Which to use
“pois” and “pom” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #9,891
- “pois” frequency rank
- #23,981
- “pom” frequency rank
- 33872
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | pois | pom |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Chacune des graines, de forme ronde, et enfermées dans une cosse verte, d’une espèce de fabacée (légumineuse) papilionacée. | Anglais. |
Where the eye mixes pois and pom
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses pois with pom
A purely visual mix-up. pois (\pwa\) and pom (\pɒm\) 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 33872, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
pois is recorded at frequency rank #9,891, classified as anoun, pronounced \pwa\. pom is at rank #23,981, tagged as anoun, pronounced \pɒm\.
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 33872, this pair ranks #287,721 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of pois vs pom
Shared letters: op. Private to "pois": is. Private to "pom": m.
"pois" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "pom" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- pois ← opis · pios · poiss · posi · ppois
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "pois" for "pom" ever safe?
Which is more common, "pois" or "pom"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "pois" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "pom" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #287,721 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "pois" and "pom" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pio vs pom". 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 #287,721 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.