proposvspropriosWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#561
“propos” frequency rank
#47,533
“proprios” frequency rank
48094
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature propos proprios
Definition Paroles échangées dans la conversation. Pluriel de proprio.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set propos and proprios apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
propos
8 ch
proprios

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. propos (\pʁɔ.po\) and proprios (\pʁɔ.pʁi.jɔ\) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 48094, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

propos is recorded at frequency rank #561, classified as anoun, pronounced \pʁɔ.po\. proprios is at rank #47,533, tagged as anoun, pronounced \pʁɔ.pʁi.jɔ\.

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 48094, this pair ranks #181,678 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of propos vs proprios

Shared letters: oprs. Private to "propos": -. Private to "proprios": i.

"propos" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC  ·  "proprios" · 8 letters · shape CCVCCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • proposporpos · ppropos · proops · proposs · proppos · propso · prpoos · prropos
  • propriosporprios · pproprios · propiros · propprios · proprioss · propriso · proprois · proprrios

Frequency comparison

propos#561
proprios#47,533

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "propos" and "proprios" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\pʁɔ.po\ versus \pʁɔ.pʁi.jɔ\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "propos" or "proprios"?
"propos" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #561 in our French list, against #47,533 for "proprios". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering propos vs proprios

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 “propos” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list