ptsvspubConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#13,041
“pts” frequency rank
#2,638
“pub” frequency rank
15679
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature pts pub
Definition Pluriel de pᵗ. Message publicitaire.

Where the eye mixes pts and pub

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.

3 ch
pts
3 ch
pub

Why the eye confuses pts with pub

A purely visual mix-up. pts (\pɔ̃\) 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 share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 15679, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

pts is recorded at frequency rank #13,041, classified as anoun, pronounced \pɔ̃\. 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 15679, this pair ranks #391,306 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of pts vs pub

Shared letters: p. Private to "pts": st. Private to "pub": bu.

"pts" · 3 letters · shape CCC  ·  "pub" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "pts" for "pub" ever safe?
No. They are said differently (\pɔ̃\ versus \pyb\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "pts" vs "pub" - which ranks higher?
"pub" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,638 in our French list, against #13,041 for "pts". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "pts" 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 #391,306 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "pts" and "pub" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pio vs pts". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #391,306 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list