Which to use
“poindre” is a verb and “poire” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #41,458
- “poindre” frequency rank
- #15,720
- “poire” frequency rank
- 57178
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | poindre | poire |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Piquer quelqu'un ou quelque chose. | Fruit à pépin, de saveur agréable, ordinairement de forme oblongue, et qui va en diminuant vers la queue. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set poindre and poire apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
poindre and poire form a confusable pair in the French index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 2 letter(s) in length - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 57178, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
poindre is recorded at frequency rank #41,458, classified as averb, pronounced \pwɛ̃dʁ\. poire is at rank #15,720, tagged as anoun, pronounced \pwaʁ\.
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 57178, this pair ranks #116,603 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "poindre" and "poire" be used interchangeably?
Remembering poindre vs poire
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “poindre”; for a noun, it's “poire”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “poindre” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable