Which to use
“robe” and “rois” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,147
- “robe” frequency rank
- #4,283
- “rois” frequency rank
- 6430
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | robe | rois |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Vêtement long, en forme de fourreau plus ou moins ample, qui enveloppe le corps, tient aux épaules et a des manches ou des ouvertures pour les bras. | Pluriel de roi. |
Where the eye mixes robe and rois
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses robe with rois
A purely visual mix-up. robe (\ʁɔb\) and rois (\ʁwa\) 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 6430, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
robe is recorded at frequency rank #2,147, classified as anoun, pronounced \ʁɔb\. rois is at rank #4,283, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ʁwa\.
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 6430, this pair ranks #426,237 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of robe vs rois
Shared letters: or. Private to "robe": be. Private to "rois": is.
"robe" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "rois" · 4 letters · shape CVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "robe" and "rois" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary French text, does "robe" or "rois" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "robe" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "rois" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #426,237 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "robe" and "rois" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "rois vs roya". 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 #426,237 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.