Which to use
“poix” and “pole” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #38,482
- “poix” frequency rank
- #12,447
- “pole” frequency rank
- 50929
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | poix | pole |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Matière résineuse gluante et noire qui s’obtient par la distillation des bois résineux de pins ou de sapins. | Première place au départ d’une course de véhicules motorisés. |
Where the eye mixes poix and pole
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. poix (CVVC) and pole (CVCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between poix and pole
A purely visual mix-up. poix (\pwa\) and pole (\pɔl\) 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 50929, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
poix is recorded at frequency rank #38,482, classified as anoun, pronounced \pwa\. pole is at rank #12,447, tagged as anoun, pronounced \pɔl\.
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 50929, this pair ranks #158,847 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of poix vs pole
Shared letters: op. Private to "poix": ix. Private to "pole": el.
"poix" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "pole" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "poix" and "pole" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "poix" vs "pole" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "poix" and "pole" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "poix" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "pole" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #158,847 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "poix" and "pole" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pio vs poix". 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 #158,847 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.