poixvspuitWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#38,482
“poix” frequency rank
#41,476
“puit” frequency rank
79958
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature poix puit
Definition Matière résineuse gluante et noire qui s’obtient par la distillation des bois résineux de pins ou de sapins. Variante orthographique de puits.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set poix and puit apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
poix
4 ch
puit

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. poix (\pwa\) and puit (\pɥi\) 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 79958, 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\. puit is at rank #41,476, tagged as anoun, pronounced \pɥi\.

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 79958, this pair ranks #22,057 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of poix vs puit

Shared letters: ip. Private to "poix": ox. Private to "puit": tu.

"poix" · 4 letters · shape CVVC  ·  "puit" · 4 letters · shape CVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • poixopix · piox · poixx · poxi · ppoix
  • puitpiut · ppuit · puitt · puti · upit

Frequency comparison

poix#38,482
puit#41,476

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "poix" and "puit" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\pwa\ versus \pɥi\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "poix" or "puit"?
"poix" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #38,482 in our French list, against #41,476 for "puit". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering poix vs puit

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 “poix” 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