Which to use
“poix” and “pony” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #38,482
- “poix” frequency rank
- #38,982
- “pony” frequency rank
- 77464
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | poix | pony |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Matière résineuse gluante et noire qui s’obtient par la distillation des bois résineux de pins ou de sapins. | Cheval de petite taille. |
Where the eye mixes poix and pony
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. poix (CVVC) and pony (CVCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between poix and pony
A purely visual mix-up. poix (\pwa\) and pony (\pɔ.ni\) 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 77464, 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\. pony is at rank #38,982, tagged as anoun, pronounced \pɔ.ni\.
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 77464, this pair ranks #28,290 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of poix vs pony
Shared letters: op. Private to "poix": ix. Private to "pony": ny.
"poix" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "pony" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "poix" for "pony" ever safe?
Frequency check: "poix" vs "pony" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "poix" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "pony" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #28,290 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "poix" and "pony" 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 #28,290 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.