Which to use
“paresse” and “paroisse” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #19,622
- “paresse” frequency rank
- #6,004
- “paroisse” frequency rank
- 25626
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | paresse | paroisse |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tendance à éviter toute activité, à refuser tout effort consenti par les autres lambdas, disposition habituelle à ne pas travailler, nonchalance, négligence des choses qui sont de devoir, d’obligation. | Division ecclésiastique où s’exerce le ministère d’un curé ou d'un pasteur. |
Where the eye mixes paresse and paroisse
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. paresse runs 7 letters (CVCVCCV) against paroisse's 8 (CVCVVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses paresse with paroisse
A purely visual mix-up. paresse (\pa.ʁɛs\) and paroisse (\pa.ʁwas\) 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 25626, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
paresse is recorded at frequency rank #19,622, classified as anoun, pronounced \pa.ʁɛs\. paroisse is at rank #6,004, tagged as anoun, pronounced \pa.ʁwas\.
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 25626, this pair ranks #339,775 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of paresse vs paroisse
Shared letters: aeprs. Private to "paresse": -. Private to "paroisse": io.
"paresse" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV · "paroisse" · 8 letters · shape CVCVVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "paresse" for "paroisse" ever safe?
In ordinary French text, does "paresse" or "paroisse" show up more?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "paresse" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "paroisse" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #339,775 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "paresse" and "paroisse" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "paresse vs poreuse". 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 #339,775 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.