quasivsquoiWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: quasi is a noun, quoi is a pronoun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“quasi” is a noun and “quoi” is a pronoun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#2,332
“quasi” frequency rank
#123
“quoi” frequency rank
2455
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature quasi quoi
Definition Morceau de la cuisse d’un bœuf ou d’un veau, placé sous le gîte à la noix. Quelle chose, dans la fonction d’objet.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set quasi and quoi apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
quasi
4 ch
quoi

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: quasi is \ka.zi\ while quoi is \kwa\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs pronoun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 2455, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

quasi is recorded at frequency rank #2,332, classified as anoun, pronounced \ka.zi\. quoi is at rank #123, tagged as apron, pronounced \kwa\.

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 2455, this pair ranks #436,113 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of quasi vs quoi

Shared letters: iqu. Private to "quasi": as. Private to "quoi": o.

"quasi" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV  ·  "quoi" · 4 letters · shape CVVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • quasiqausi · qquasi · quassi · qusai · uqasi
  • quoiqoui · qquoi · quio · uqoi

Frequency comparison

quasi#2,332
quoi#123

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "quasi" and "quoi" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "quasi" is a noun and "quoi" a pronoun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "quasi" or "quoi"?
"quoi" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #123 in our French list, against #2,332 for "quasi". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering quasi vs quoi

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “quasi”; for a pronoun, it's “quoi”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “quasi” 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