Which to use
“poux” and “pub” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #19,111
- “poux” frequency rank
- #2,638
- “pub” frequency rank
- 21749
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | poux | pub |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de pou. | Message publicitaire. |
Where the eye mixes poux and pub
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between poux and pub
A purely visual mix-up. poux (\pu\) and pub (\pyb\) 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 21749, 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\. pub is at rank #2,638, tagged as anoun, pronounced \pyb\.
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 21749, this pair ranks #361,613 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of poux vs pub
Shared letters: pu. Private to "poux": ox. Private to "pub": b.
"poux" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "pub" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- poux ← opux · pouxx · poxu · ppoux · puox
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "poux" and "pub" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary French text, does "poux" or "pub" show up more?
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 "poux" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "pub" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #361,613 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "poux" and "pub" 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 #361,613 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.