preuvevspreuxWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“preuve” and “preux” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#950
“preuve” frequency rank
#39,466
“preux” frequency rank
40416
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature preuve preux
Definition Ce qui établit la véracité d’une proposition ou d’un fait. Chevalier.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set preuve and preux apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
preuve
5 ch
preux

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. preuve (\pʁœv\) 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 40416, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

preuve is recorded at frequency rank #950, classified as anoun, pronounced \pʁœv\. 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 40416, this pair ranks #240,681 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of preuve vs preux

Shared letters: epru. Private to "preuve": v. Private to "preux": x.

"preuve" · 6 letters · shape CCVVCV  ·  "preux" · 5 letters · shape CCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • preuveperuve · ppreuve · preuev · preuvve · prevue · prreuve · prueve · rpeuve
  • preuxperux · ppreux · preuxx · prexu · prreux · pruex · rpeux

Frequency comparison

preuve#950
preux#39,466

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "preuve" and "preux" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\pʁœv\ versus \pʁø\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "preuve" or "preux"?
"preuve" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #950 in our French list, against #39,466 for "preux". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering preuve vs preux

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “preuve” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list