Which to use
“pairs” is an adjective and “perds” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #9,209
- “pairs” frequency rank
- #5,378
- “perds” frequency rank
- 14587
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | pairs | perds |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Masculin pluriel de pair. | Première personne du singulier de l’indicatif présent de perdre. |
Same sound, different letters: pairs vs perds
Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 3 letters. pairs (CVVCC) and perds (CVCCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Ear matches; page differs - pairs and perds
Say them out loud and nothing separates them: pairs and perds carry the same recorded pronunciation, \pɛʁ\. Grammar is what tells them apart: one is anadjective, the other averb, so most sentences will only accept one of them. They share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14587, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
pairs is recorded at frequency rank #9,209, classified as anadj, pronounced \pɛʁ\. perds is at rank #5,378, tagged as averb, pronounced \pɛʁ\.
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 14587, this pair ranks #396,027 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of pairs vs perds
Shared letters: prs. Private to "pairs": ai. Private to "perds": de.
"pairs" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC · "perds" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "pairs" for "perds" ever safe?
In ordinary French text, does "pairs" or "perds" show up more?
What to do next
You've separated the homophone pair "pairs" / "perds". Follow the links when you need the full entry or a neighbour that trips the same ear.
- Full dictionary entry for "pairs" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "perds" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #396,027 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "pairs" and "perds" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pairs vs Pamiers". 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 #396,027 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.