--- title: "Proximo: how word proximity actually works · SIWA" description: "Where do Proximo's ranks come from? Word vectors, the list of 100 neighbours, grouped word forms and \"Hors liste\", explained in plain English." canonical_url: "https://dev.siwa.io/en/guides/proximo-comprendre-la-proximite" last_updated: 2026-10-27 locale: en meta: "og:description": "Where do Proximo's ranks come from? Word vectors, the list of 100 neighbours, grouped word forms and \"Hors liste\", explained in plain English." "og:image": "https://dev.siwa.io/og/en/proximo.jpg?v=dbfaca9c" "og:image:alt": "Proximo · Track down the mystery word by meaning" "og:image:height": "630" "og:image:type": image/jpeg "og:image:width": "1200" "og:title": "Proximo: how word proximity actually works" "twitter:image": "https://dev.siwa.io/og/en/proximo.jpg?v=dbfaca9c" "twitter:image:alt": "Proximo · Track down the mystery word by meaning" --- > Index of every page on this site: [llms.txt](https://dev.siwa.io/llms.txt) How to play # Proximo: how word proximity actually works In Proximo, the proximity between two words is computed from how they are used across huge volumes of French text: two words used in similar contexts count as close. Each day, the 100 words closest to the secret word are ranked from #1 to #100, and that ranking is the same for every player. Updated October 27, 2026 [Play Proximo](https://play.dev.siwa.io/game/proximo) ## What does proximity mean in Proximo? In [Proximo](https://dev.siwa.io/en/games/proximo), a French word game, two words are close when they are used in similar contexts. It isn't a human judgement or a list of synonyms: it is a calculation based on how words appear in text. The idea comes from linguistics: you know a word by the company it keeps. "Orage" (storm) often sits next to "tonnerre" (thunder), "pluie" (rain) or "éclair" (lightning). So it ends up close to them, without being a synonym. ## How words become numbers Proximo relies on fastText word vectors for French, a public model trained on very large volumes of web pages and on Wikipedia. Each word is represented as a list of 300 numbers. Two words used in close contexts get lists that point in neighbouring directions. To measure proximity, the game compares those directions: this is cosine similarity. The more aligned the two vectors are, the closer the words. fastText also takes word fragments into account. Two words that share a root or a suffix can therefore move closer, on top of their closeness in usage. ## How the day's list is built When the day's game is prepared, the game looks up the words closest to the secret word in its French dictionary. Only fairly frequent words have a vector, so rare words cannot make the list. Proper nouns are left out. Forms of the same word are then grouped. If "nuage" and "nuages" (cloud, clouds) are both close, only the closer form is ranked. The other becomes an equivalent that returns the same rank when you type it. The first 100 words obtained this way are numbered #1 to #100. The ranking is fixed: the same for every player, all day long, and independent of your guesses. ## What does "Hors liste" mean? A "Hors liste" (off the list) word is not among the 100 neighbours kept. There are three possible cases: - **It is too far** from the secret word, according to the calculation. - **It is too rare** to have a vector, or it is misspelled: the game doesn't check that a word exists. - **It is another form of the secret word.** To keep the list from filling up with variants of the answer, every form of the secret word is excluded. If the word to find is "orages", typing "orage" returns "Hors liste". That last case is a trap, but it can also be a clue: a word that should be at the very top and comes back "Hors liste" is worth trying in another form. ## Why some ranks are surprising The calculation measures usage, not exact meaning. That has a few effects worth knowing: - **Opposites can be close.** "Chaud" (hot) and "froid" (cold) appear in the same sentences. - **A word with several meanings blends them.** Each word has a single vector: "avocat" carries both the fruit (avocado) and the profession (lawyer). - **Associated words count as much as synonyms.** An object, a place or an action tied to the secret word can outrank a rarely used near-synonym. The coloured bar under each guess follows the rank: almost full at #1, shorter as the rank grows, down to a thin sliver for a "Hors liste" word. ## How the secret word is chosen The secret word is drawn from the game's dictionary: 5 to 10 letters, no verbs, with a preference for common words. A word used in the last 60 days is set aside. The editorial team can also choose the word itself. The theme shown on screen, one of about twenty such as "Animaux" (animals), "Sport" or "Météo" (weather), is set by the team or assigned automatically by an AI model. If the secret word has no vector, the list of neighbours is ranked by that AI model instead of the vector calculation. ## What it means for your score The ranking doesn't directly affect your score: only the number of wrong guesses counts, ranked or not. Each wrong guess costs about 30 points, each hint about 60, and the reference time is 4 minutes. Hints follow the ranking backwards: the first reveals word #100, the next #99. They place you in the right area of meaning without bringing you too close too fast. ## Going further For the basic rules and a walked-through game, read [how to play Proximo](https://dev.siwa.io/en/guides/comment-jouer-a-proximo). To put all this to use, our [Proximo tips](https://dev.siwa.io/en/guides/astuces-proximo) offer seven practical strategies. ## Frequently asked questions
How does Proximo measure how close two words are? Each word is represented by a list of 300 numbers, learned from large bodies of French text. Proximity measures how closely those two representations point in the same direction.
Why can an opposite rank high in Proximo? Because opposites are used in the same sentences: "chaud" (hot) and "froid" (cold) both talk about temperature. The calculation measures closeness of usage, not identical meaning.
Does the Proximo ranking change during the day? No. The list of 100 neighbours is computed once, when the day's game is prepared. It is the same for every player and doesn't depend on your guesses.
Why is my word "Hors liste" when it seems close? Either it is not among the 100 closest according to the calculation, or it is a rare word that cannot make the list. Other forms of the secret word, such as its plural, are also off the list.
What does rank #1 mean? It is the closest word to the secret word among the 100 on the list. The secret word itself has no rank: it shows with the "Mot cible" (target word) badge.
## Ready to play? Today's grid is waiting, free and without sign-up. [Play Proximo](https://play.dev.siwa.io/game/proximo) ## More guides [TMSPMPR

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The secret word itself has no rank: it shows with the \"Mot cible\" (target word) badge."}},{"@id":"https://dev.siwa.io/#logo","@type":"ImageObject","caption":"SIWA","contentUrl":"https://dev.siwa.io/logo-siwa.svg","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https://dev.siwa.io/logo-siwa.svg"},{"@id":"https://dev.siwa.io/#/schema/image/1","@type":"ImageObject","contentUrl":"https://dev.siwa.io/og/en/proximo.jpg?v=dbfaca9c","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https://dev.siwa.io/og/en/proximo.jpg?v=dbfaca9c"}]} ``` ## Sitemap See the full [sitemap](https://dev.siwa.io/sitemap.md) for all pages.