poivspuitWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#40,426
“poi” frequency rank
#41,476
“puit” frequency rank
81902
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature poi puit
Definition Plat polynésien de consistance pâteuse à semi-fluide, mélange de plusieurs fruits ou légumes. Variante orthographique de puits.

Where the spellings diverge

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

3 ch
poi
4 ch
puit

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. poi (\pɔj\) and puit (\pɥi\) 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 81902, 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\. puit is at rank #41,476, tagged as anoun, pronounced \pɥi\.

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 81902, this pair ranks #17,827 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of poi vs puit

Shared letters: ip. Private to "poi": o. Private to "puit": tu.

"poi" · 3 letters · shape CVV  ·  "puit" · 4 letters · shape CVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • puitpiut · ppuit · puitt · puti · upit

Frequency comparison

poi#40,426
puit#41,476

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "poi" and "puit" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\pɔj\ versus \pɥi\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "poi" or "puit"?
"poi" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #40,426 in our French list, against #41,476 for "puit". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering poi vs puit

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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list