Which to use
“robe” and “rou” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,147
- “robe” frequency rank
- #48,169
- “rou” frequency rank
- 50316
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | robe | rou |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | Synonyme de rohu (poisson). |
Where the eye mixes robe and rou
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses robe with rou
A purely visual mix-up. robe (\ʁɔb\) and rou (\ʁu\) 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 50316, 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\. rou is at rank #48,169, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ʁu\.
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 50316, this pair ranks #163,615 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of robe vs rou
Shared letters: or. Private to "robe": be. Private to "rou": u.
"robe" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "rou" · 3 letters · shape CVV
Known mistypes of this pair
- robe ← rboe · robbe · roeb · rrobe
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "robe" for "rou" ever safe?
Which is more common, "robe" or "rou"?
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 "robe" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "rou" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #163,615 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "robe" and "rou" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "rou 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 #163,615 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.