Which to use
“poix” and “pot” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #38,482
- “poix” frequency rank
- #3,954
- “pot” frequency rank
- 42436
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | poix | pot |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Matière résineuse gluante et noire qui s’obtient par la distillation des bois résineux de pins ou de sapins. | Vase de terre, verre, métal, plastique ou autre matière servant à divers usages. |
Where the eye mixes poix and pot
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. poix runs 4 letters (CVVC) against pot's 3 (CVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between poix and pot
A purely visual mix-up. poix (\pwa\) and pot (\po\) 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 42436, 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\. pot is at rank #3,954, tagged as anoun, pronounced \po\.
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 42436, this pair ranks #225,614 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of poix vs pot
Shared letters: op. Private to "poix": ix. Private to "pot": t.
"poix" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "pot" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- poix ← opix · piox · poixx · poxi · ppoix
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "poix" and "pot" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary French text, does "poix" or "pot" show up more?
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 "pot" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #225,614 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "poix" and "pot" 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 #225,614 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.