payer

\pe.je\

/\pe.je\/ verb

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

The verdict

“payer” has 7 generated spelling variants in the French index at frequency #808. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#808
frequency rank, French
6,826
“P” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Donner de l’argent pour un bien ou un service.

Corpus desk

Index FR-payer · payer · French

payer · rank #808 · 7 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-CORE #808
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,826
  • PHOTO-FINISH O

Nearest frequency peer: O (-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 “payer”

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

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “payer” 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 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

payer vs pays
60% similar
payer vs Pier
40% similar
payer vs peer
60% similar

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

Key facts for payer
PropertyValue
Headwordpayer
LanguageFrench
Part of speechVerb
IPA\pe.je\
Letters5
Frequency rank#808
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Où “payer” se place dans la fréquence du français

Cette échelle va du noyau du français courant (gauche) jusqu'à la traîne des formes rares (droite).payerse place ici:

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

L'échelle est logarithmique (chaque tic ≈ 10× plus rare). Dans la même bande de rareté figurent « O » (#807), « peuple » (#809), « nombreuses » (#806). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around payer (IPA \pe.je\), averb. Corpus frequency is #808 among 6,826 “P” headwords. Wiktionary lists 11 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for payer, with forms such as "apyer", "paeyr", and "payerr". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "pays", "Pier", "peer", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

No borrowing history is documented 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 payer, spelled P-A-Y-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    Donner de l’argent pour un bien ou un service.
  2. 2
    Régler un impôt ou un droit.
  3. 3
    Acquitter une dette.
  4. 4
    Satisfaire à quelque chose que l’on compare à une dette à l’égard d'autrui.
  5. 5
    Apaiser, satisfaire avec de l'argent.
  6. 6
    Offrir.
  7. 7
    Récompenser, reconnaître.
  8. 8
    Dédommager.
  9. 9
    Punir.
  10. 10
    Expier.
  11. 11
    Obtenir, acquérir quelque chose par un sacrifice.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Les ouvriers occupés à la fouille et à l'extraction des coquins bruts, travaillent à la tâche ; on les paye à raison de 33 centimes le mètre cube de minerai extrait. Les bons ouvriers gagnent 3 fr 50 par jour.
  2. Ça payait l’essence et les sandwichs triangles.

Synonyms

allongerbanquercasquercracher au bassinetmettre la main à la pochemettre la main au portefeuilleraquer

This word in other languages

pay(English)pagar(Español)kaufen(Deutsch)pagar(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • apyer
  • paeyr
  • payerr
  • payre
  • payyer
  • ppayer
  • pyaer

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of payer - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

apyer2paeyr2payerr1payre2payyer1ppayer1pyaer2
Edit distance from "payer"

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.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "payer"?
"payer" is spelled P-A-Y-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is \pe.je\.
What does "payer" mean?
As a verb, "payer" means: Donner de l’argent pour un bien ou un service.
What words are commonly confused with "payer"?
"payer" is commonly confused with "pays", "Pier", "peer". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "payer"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "payer" is \pe.je\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "payer" come from?
"payer" is a French word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
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 "payer", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked French headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

idées#804quant#812haute#790ouest#826

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).

pièce7 variantssorte7 variantsprise7 variantsmains7 variants

What to do next

You've looked up "payer". Here's where to go from here.

  • "payer" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "pays". View pair
  • 7 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
  • Usage frequency rank #808 among French headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more French words in the "P" letter cohort. P–Z browse

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

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