Which to use
“robe” and “roy” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,147
- “robe” frequency rank
- #3,220
- “roy” frequency rank
- 5367
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | robe | roy |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | De 1694 à 1740 : Orthographe de l’Académie française de roi. |
Where the eye mixes robe and roy
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between robe and roy
A purely visual mix-up. robe (\ʁɔb\) and roy (\ʁwa\) 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 5367, 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\. roy is at rank #3,220, 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 5367, this pair ranks #429,219 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of robe vs roy
Shared letters: or. Private to "robe": be. Private to "roy": y.
"robe" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "roy" · 3 letters · shape CVV
Known mistypes of this pair
- robe ← rboe · robbe · roeb · rrobe
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "robe" and "roy" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "robe" or "roy"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "robe" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "roy" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #429,219 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "robe" and "roy" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "roy 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 #429,219 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.