Which to use
“poirier” and “postier” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #16,968
- “poirier” frequency rank
- #48,117
- “postier” frequency rank
- 65085
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | poirier | postier |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Arbre fruitier qui produit les poires. | Agent, employé du service des postes. |
Where the eye mixes poirier and postier
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. poirier (CVVCVVC) and postier (CVCCVVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between poirier and postier
A purely visual mix-up. poirier (\pwa.ʁje\) and postier (\pɔs.tje\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 65085, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
poirier is recorded at frequency rank #16,968, classified as anoun, pronounced \pwa.ʁje\. postier is at rank #48,117, tagged as anoun, pronounced \pɔs.tje\.
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 65085, this pair ranks #73,912 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of poirier vs postier
Shared letters: eiopr. Private to "poirier": -. Private to "postier": st.
"poirier" · 7 letters · shape CVVCVVC · "postier" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "poirier" and "postier" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "poirier" or "postier"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "poirier" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "postier" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #73,912 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "poirier" and "postier" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "postier vs potiers". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #73,912 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.