Which to use
“parait” and “payais” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #4,261
- “parait” frequency rank
- #43,592
- “payais” frequency rank
- 47853
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | parait | payais |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Troisième personne du singulier de l’imparfait du verbe parer. | Première personne du singulier de l’imparfait de l’indicatif de payer. |
Where the eye mixes parait and payais
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. parait (CVCVVC) and payais (CVVVVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: parait vs payais
A purely visual mix-up. parait (\pa.ʁɛ\) and payais (\pɛ.jɛ\) 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 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 47853, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
parait is recorded at frequency rank #4,261, classified as averb, pronounced \pa.ʁɛ\. payais is at rank #43,592, tagged as averb, pronounced \pɛ.jɛ\.
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 47853, this pair ranks #183,636 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of parait vs payais
Shared letters: aip. Private to "parait": rt. Private to "payais": sy.
"parait" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC · "payais" · 6 letters · shape CVVVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "parait" for "payais" ever safe?
Which is more common, "parait" or "payais"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "parait" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "payais" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #183,636 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "parait" and "payais" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "payaient vs payais". 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 #183,636 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.