petitvsPetrieWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: petit is a adjective, Petrie is a name, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“petit” is an adjective and “Petrie” is a name - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#20,456
“petit” frequency rank
#30,175
“Petrie” frequency rank
50631
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature petit Petrie
Definition Petite: small, little. A surname transferred from the given name.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set petit and Petrie apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
petit
6 ch
Petrie

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: petit is anadjective and Petrieaname. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 50631, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

petit is recorded at frequency rank #20,456, classified as anadj, pronounced /ˈpɛti/. Petrie is at rank #30,175, tagged as aname.

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 50631, this pair ranks #172,531 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of petit vs Petrie

Shared letters: eipt. Private to "petit": -. Private to "Petrie": r.

"petit" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "Petrie" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • petiteptit · peitt · petitt · petti · pettit · ppetit · pteit
  • Petrieeptrie · pertie · petire · petrei · petrrie · pettrie · ppetrie · pterie

Frequency comparison

petit#20,456
Petrie#30,175

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "petit" and "Petrie" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "petit" is an adjective and "Petrie" a name, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "petit" or "Petrie"?
"petit" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #20,456 in our English list, against #30,175 for "Petrie". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering petit vs Petrie

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “petit”; for a name, it's “Petrie”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “petit” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list