Which to use
“port” and “pose” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,169
- “port” frequency rank
- #1,147
- “pose” frequency rank
- 2316
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | port | pose |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Havre côtier, refuge ou abri pour les bateaux les protégeant des vents et des tempêtes. | Action de poser, de mettre en place. |
Where the eye mixes port and pose
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses port with pose
A purely visual mix-up. port (\pɔʁ\) and pose (\poz\) 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 2316, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
port is recorded at frequency rank #1,169, classified as anoun, pronounced \pɔʁ\. pose is at rank #1,147, tagged as anoun, pronounced \poz\.
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 2316, this pair ranks #436,367 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of port vs pose
Shared letters: op. Private to "port": rt. Private to "pose": es.
"port" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "pose" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "port" for "pose" ever safe?
Which is more common, "port" or "pose"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "port" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "pose" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #436,367 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "port" and "pose" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "PMR vs port". 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 #436,367 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.