Which to use
“poire” is a noun and “propre” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #15,720
- “poire” frequency rank
- #513
- “propre” frequency rank
- 16233
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | poire | propre |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Fruit à pépin, de saveur agréable, ordinairement de forme oblongue, et qui va en diminuant vers la queue. | Qui est particulier à une personne ou à une chose (exclusivement ou non). |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set poire and propre apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: poire is \pwaʁ\ while propre is \pʁɔpʁ\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 16233, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
poire is recorded at frequency rank #15,720, classified as anoun, pronounced \pwaʁ\. propre is at rank #513, tagged as anadj, pronounced \pʁɔpʁ\.
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 16233, this pair ranks #388,775 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of poire vs propre
Shared letters: eopr. Private to "poire": i. Private to "propre": -.
"poire" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV · "propre" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "poire" and "propre" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "poire" or "propre"?
Remembering poire vs propre
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “poire”; for an adjective, it's “propre”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “poire” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable