Which to use
“poix” and “POW” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #38,482
- “poix” frequency rank
- #38,986
- “POW” frequency rank
- 77468
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | poix | POW |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Matière résineuse gluante et noire qui s’obtient par la distillation des bois résineux de pins ou de sapins. | Abréviation de prisoner of war : « prisonnier de guerre ». |
Where the eye mixes poix and POW
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. poix runs 4 letters (CVVC) against POW's 3 (CVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: poix vs POW
A purely visual mix-up. poix (\pwa\) and POW (\piː.əʊ.ˈdʌb.əl.ˌjuː\) 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 77468, 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\. POW is at rank #38,986, tagged as anoun, pronounced \piː.əʊ.ˈdʌb.əl.ˌjuː\.
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 77468, this pair ranks #28,275 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of poix vs POW
Shared letters: op. Private to "poix": ix. Private to "POW": w.
"poix" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "POW" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- poix ← opix · piox · poixx · poxi · ppoix
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "poix" for "POW" ever safe?
Which is more common, "poix" or "POW"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "poix" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "POW" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #28,275 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "poix" and "POW" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pio vs POW". 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 #28,275 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.