Which to use
“poux” and “preux” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #19,111
- “poux” frequency rank
- #39,466
- “preux” frequency rank
- 58577
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | poux | preux |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de pou. | Chevalier. |
Where the eye mixes poux and preux
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses poux with preux
A purely visual mix-up. poux (\pu\) and preux (\pʁø\) 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 58577, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
poux is recorded at frequency rank #19,111, classified as anoun, pronounced \pu\. preux is at rank #39,466, tagged as anoun, pronounced \pʁø\.
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 58577, this pair ranks #108,249 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of poux vs preux
Shared letters: pux. Private to "poux": o. Private to "preux": er.
"poux" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "preux" · 5 letters · shape CCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "poux" and "preux" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "poux" vs "preux" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "poux" and "preux" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "poux" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "preux" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #108,249 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "poux" and "preux" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "prep vs preux". 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 #108,249 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.