Which to use
“pâque” and “piqûre” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #31,666
- “pâque” frequency rank
- #18,280
- “piqûre” frequency rank
- 49946
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | pâque | piqûre |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Variante orthographique de Pâque. | Petite blessure que fait une chose ou un animal qui pique. |
Where the eye mixes pâque and piqûre
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. pâque runs 5 letters (CVCVV) against piqûre's 6 (CVCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses pâque with piqûre
A purely visual mix-up. pâque (\pɑk\) and piqûre (\pi.kyʁ\) 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 49946, 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\. piqûre is at rank #18,280, tagged as anoun, pronounced \pi.kyʁ\.
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 49946, this pair ranks #166,583 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of pâque vs piqûre
Shared letters: epq. Private to "pâque": uâ. Private to "piqûre": irû.
"pâque" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV · "piqûre" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "pâque" and "piqûre" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "pâque" or "piqûre"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "pâque" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "piqûre" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #166,583 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "pâque" and "piqûre" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pâque vs pasque". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #166,583 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.