paonvspayenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“paon” and “payen” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#28,277
“paon” frequency rank
#45,222
“payen” frequency rank
73499
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature paon payen
Definition Grand oiseau domesticable, de l’ordre des gallinacés, dont le cri est strident, qui a un beau plumage mordoré, une petite aigrette sur la tête et dont la queue se compose de longues plumes couvertes d’ocelles, marques de différentes couleurs en forme d’yeux. Traverse de la roue à potier, sur laquelle l’ouvrier appuie ses pieds.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set paon and payen apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
paon
5 ch
payen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. paon (\pɑ̃\) and payen (\pa.jɛ̃\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 73499, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

paon is recorded at frequency rank #28,277, classified as anoun, pronounced \pɑ̃\. payen is at rank #45,222, tagged as anoun, pronounced \pa.jɛ̃\.

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 73499, this pair ranks #40,265 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of paon vs payen

Shared letters: anp. Private to "paon": o. Private to "payen": ey.

"paon" · 4 letters · shape CVVC  ·  "payen" · 5 letters · shape CVVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • paonapon · pano · paonn · poan · ppaon
  • payenapyen · paeyn · payenn · payyen · ppayen · pyaen

Frequency comparison

paon#28,277
payen#45,222

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "paon" and "payen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\pɑ̃\ versus \pa.jɛ̃\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "paon" or "payen"?
"paon" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #28,277 in our French list, against #45,222 for "payen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering paon vs payen

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “paon” 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