Which to use
“propos” and “provoc” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #561
- “propos” frequency rank
- #39,476
- “provoc” frequency rank
- 40037
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | propos | provoc |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Paroles échangées dans la conversation. | Provocation. |
Where the eye mixes propos and provoc
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. propos and provoc follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: propos vs provoc
A purely visual mix-up. propos (\pʁɔ.po\) and provoc (\pʁɔ.vɔk\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40037, 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\. provoc is at rank #39,476, tagged as anoun, pronounced \pʁɔ.vɔk\.
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 40037, this pair ranks #243,512 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of propos vs provoc
Shared letters: opr. Private to "propos": s. Private to "provoc": cv.
"propos" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC · "provoc" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "propos" for "provoc" ever safe?
Frequency check: "propos" vs "provoc" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "propos" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "provoc" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #243,512 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "propos" and "provoc" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "proof vs provoc". 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 #243,512 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.