Which to use
“pâque” and “passé” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #31,666
- “pâque” frequency rank
- #318
- “passé” frequency rank
- 31984
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | pâque | passé |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Variante orthographique de Pâque. | Le temps écoulé. |
Where the eye mixes pâque and passé
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence. pâque (CVCVV) and passé (CVCCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: pâque vs passé
A purely visual mix-up. pâque (\pɑk\) and passé (\pa.se\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 4 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 31984, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
pâque is recorded at frequency rank #31,666, classified as anoun, pronounced \pɑk\. passé is at rank #318, tagged as anoun, pronounced \pa.se\.
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 31984, this pair ranks #300,319 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of pâque vs passé
Shared letters: p. Private to "pâque": equâ. Private to "passé": asé.
"pâque" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV · "passé" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "pâque" for "passé" ever safe?
Frequency check: "pâque" vs "passé" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "pâque" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "passé" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #300,319 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "pâque" and "passé" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pâque vs pasque". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #300,319 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.