Which to use
“pots” and “poux” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #8,442
- “pots” frequency rank
- #19,111
- “poux” frequency rank
- 27553
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | pots | poux |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de pot. | Pluriel de pou. |
Where the eye mixes pots and poux
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses pots with poux
A purely visual mix-up. pots (\po\) and poux (\pu\) 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 27553, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
pots is recorded at frequency rank #8,442, classified as anoun, pronounced \po\. poux is at rank #19,111, tagged as anoun, pronounced \pu\.
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 27553, this pair ranks #328,235 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of pots vs poux
Shared letters: op. Private to "pots": st. Private to "poux": ux.
"pots" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "poux" · 4 letters · shape CVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "pots" and "poux" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "pots" vs "poux" - 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 "pots" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "poux" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #328,235 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "pots" and "poux" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pogo vs poux". 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 #328,235 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.