Which to use
“qui” and “quoi” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #22
- “qui” frequency rank
- #123
- “quoi” frequency rank
- 145
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | qui | quoi |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Lequel, laquelle, lesquels, lesquelles. | Quelle chose, dans la fonction d’objet. |
Where the eye mixes qui and quoi
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses qui with quoi
A purely visual mix-up. qui (\ki\) and quoi (\kwa\) 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 145, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
qui is recorded at frequency rank #22, classified as apron, pronounced \ki\. 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 145, this pair ranks #440,055 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of qui vs quoi
Shared letters: iqu. Private to "qui": -. Private to "quoi": o.
"qui" · 3 letters · shape CVV · "quoi" · 4 letters · shape CVVV
Known mistypes of this pair
- quoi ← qoui · qquoi · quio · uqoi
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "qui" for "quoi" ever safe?
In ordinary French text, does "qui" or "quoi" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "qui" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "quoi" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #440,055 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "qui" and "quoi" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "qui vs quite". 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 #440,055 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.