Which to use
“pois” is a noun and “posais” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #9,891
- “pois” frequency rank
- #26,477
- “posais” frequency rank
- 36368
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | pois | posais |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Chacune des graines, de forme ronde, et enfermées dans une cosse verte, d’une espèce de fabacée (légumineuse) papilionacée. | Première personne du singulier de l’imparfait de l’indicatif de poser. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set pois and posais apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
pois and posais 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 36368, 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\. posais is at rank #26,477, tagged as averb, pronounced \po.zɛ\.
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 36368, this pair ranks #270,112 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "pois" and "posais" be used interchangeably?
Remembering pois vs posais
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “pois”; for a verb, it's “posais”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “pois” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable