poivsporcWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“poi” and “porc” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#40,426
“poi” frequency rank
#5,274
“porc” frequency rank
45700
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature poi porc
Definition Plat polynésien de consistance pâteuse à semi-fluide, mélange de plusieurs fruits ou légumes. Mammifère omnivore très répandu dans le monde, au museau terminé par un groin. Animal domestique qu’on engraisse pour le manger et qui a entre la chair et la peau une graisse qu’on appelle lard. La femelle est la truie. Au sens strict, le porc est un verrat castré.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set poi and porc apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch
poi
4 ch
porc

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. poi (\pɔj\) and porc (\pɔʁ\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 45700, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

poi is recorded at frequency rank #40,426, classified as anoun, pronounced \pɔj\. porc is at rank #5,274, tagged as anoun, pronounced \pɔʁ\.

Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.

With a confusion score of 45700, this pair ranks #200,691 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of poi vs porc

Shared letters: op. Private to "poi": i. Private to "porc": cr.

"poi" · 3 letters · shape CVV  ·  "porc" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • porcoprc · pocr · porcc · porrc · pporc · proc

Frequency comparison

poi#40,426
porc#5,274

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "poi" and "porc" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\pɔj\ versus \pɔʁ\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "poi" or "porc"?
"porc" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,274 in our French list, against #40,426 for "poi". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering poi vs porc

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “poi” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list