Which to use
“pourquoi” is an adverb and “pourvoi” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #180
- “pourquoi” frequency rank
- #26,479
- “pourvoi” frequency rank
- 26659
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | pourquoi | pourvoi |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pour quelle raison ; dans quelle intention ; pour quelle cause ; pour quelle chose. | Recours à une juridiction supérieure, contre un arrêt rendu. |
Where the eye mixes pourquoi and pourvoi
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: pourquoi vs pourvoi
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: pourquoi is \puʁ.kwa\ while pourvoi is \puʁ.vwa\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adverb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 26659, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
pourquoi is recorded at frequency rank #180, classified as anadv, pronounced \puʁ.kwa\. pourvoi is at rank #26,479, tagged as anoun, pronounced \puʁ.vwa\.
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 26659, this pair ranks #333,615 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of pourquoi vs pourvoi
Shared letters: iopru. Private to "pourquoi": q. Private to "pourvoi": v.
"pourquoi" · 8 letters · shape CVVCCVVV · "pourvoi" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "pourquoi" and "pourvoi" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "pourquoi" vs "pourvoi" - which ranks higher?
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 "pourquoi" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "pourvoi" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #333,615 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "pourquoi" and "pourvoi" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pourvoi vs pourvue". 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 #333,615 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.