par

\paʁ\

/\paʁ\/ prep

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“par” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #28) as a preposition. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#28
frequency rank, French
6,826
“P” headwords
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 2, 2026) - Sert à marquer le mouvement et le passage.

Corpus desk

Index FR-par · par · French

par · rank #28 · 0 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-CORE #28
  • LEN-MID 3 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,826
  • PHOTO-FINISH on

Nearest frequency peer: on (+1 rank slots)

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Frequency neighbourhood for “par”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “par” sits against the nearest ranked French headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 2, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

par vs pu
33% similar
par vs PS
0% similar
par vs PQ
0% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for par
PropertyValue
Headwordpar
LanguageFrench
Part of speechPreposition
IPA\paʁ\
Letters3
Frequency rank#28
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “par” sits in French frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). par lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for par is neighbouring look-alikes ("pu", "PS", …), not just typos; it is apreposition pronounced \paʁ\. Frequency #28 among 6,826 “P” headwords. 15 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

No misspelling variants are generated for par in our index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable French rules. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "pu", "PS", "PQ", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so any spelling logic here comes from how the word's sounds map to letters, not a documented origin story. The correct French form is par, spelled P-A-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    Sert à marquer le mouvement et le passage.
  2. 2
    S’emploie aussi au sens de en, dans, avec l’idée de mouvement dans l’espace indiqué.
  3. 3
    À travers.
  4. 4
    À la hauteur de.
  5. 5
    Sert à indiquer la position d’un bâtiment, d’un objet, par rapport à un autre bâtiment ou à un autre objet.
  6. 6
    Sert à désigner la partie qu’on saisit.
  7. 7
    Sert à désigner l’agent. — Note d’usage : Il régit en cet emploi le complément des verbes passifs :
  8. 8
    Sert à désigner la cause, le motif.
  9. 9
    Sert à désigner le moyen :
  10. 10
    Sert à désigner l’instrument, la manière.
  11. 11
    Indique l’ordre et la distribution.
  12. 12
    Sert à remplacer le gérondif par l'infinitif, dans des phrases où le verbe conjugué est commencer, continuer ou finir.
  13. 13
    S'emploie pour affirmer, jurer, conjurer.
  14. 14
    Durant.
  15. 15
    Sert de particule interjective entrant dans les exclamations faisant intervenir le nom d’une divinité.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how par appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Il a passé par Bordeaux. — Voyager par eau, par mer, par terre. — Aller par le monde.
  2. Il est toujours par les chemins. — Jeter quelque chose par la fenêtre. — Par où a-t-il passé ?

This word in other languages

by(English)por(Español)durch(Deutsch)através de(Português)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 French corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 2, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "par"?
"par" is spelled P-A-R. The IPA pronunciation is \paʁ\.
What does "par" mean?
As a preposition, "par" means: Sert à marquer le mouvement et le passage.
What words are commonly confused with "par"?
"par" is commonly confused with "pu", "PS", "PQ". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "par"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "par" is \paʁ\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "par" come from?
"par" is a French word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar French words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "par", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked French headwords with 3 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

sur#26qui#22une#16pas#15
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list