poisvsputoisWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“pois” and “putois” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#9,891
“pois” frequency rank
#46,379
“putois” frequency rank
56270
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature pois putois
Definition Chacune des graines, de forme ronde, et enfermées dans une cosse verte, d’une espèce de fabacée (légumineuse) papilionacée. Petit quadrupède carnivore dont la peau sert à faire des fourrures, possédant une glande libérant une puanteur en cas de peur.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set pois and putois apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
pois
6 ch
putois

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. pois (\pwa\) and putois (\py.twa\) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 56270, 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\. putois is at rank #46,379, tagged as anoun, pronounced \py.twa\.

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 56270, this pair ranks #122,142 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of pois vs putois

Shared letters: iops. Private to "pois": -. Private to "putois": tu.

"pois" · 4 letters · shape CVVC  ·  "putois" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • poisopis · pios · poiss · posi · ppois
  • putoispputois · ptuois · puotis · putios · putoiss · putosi · puttois · uptois

Frequency comparison

pois#9,891
putois#46,379

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "pois" and "putois" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\pwa\ versus \py.twa\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "pois" or "putois"?
"pois" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,891 in our French list, against #46,379 for "putois". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering pois vs putois

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • 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

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list