parfumvsparqueWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: parfum is a noun, parque is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“parfum” is a noun and “parque” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#4,697
“parfum” frequency rank
#38,963
“parque” frequency rank
43660
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature parfum parque
Definition Odeur aromatique, agréable, plus ou moins forte, plus ou moins subtile et suave, qui s’exhale d’une substance quelconque et particulièrement des fleurs. Première personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de parquer.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set parfum and parque apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
parfum
6 ch
parque

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: parfum is \paʁ.fœ̃\ while parque is \paʁk\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 43660, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

parfum is recorded at frequency rank #4,697, classified as anoun, pronounced \paʁ.fœ̃\. parque is at rank #38,963, tagged as averb, pronounced \paʁk\.

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 43660, this pair ranks #216,379 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of parfum vs parque

Shared letters: apru. Private to "parfum": fm. Private to "parque": eq.

"parfum" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "parque" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • parfumaprfum · pafrum · parffum · parfmu · parfumm · parrfum · parufm · pparfum
  • parqueaprque · paqrue · parqeu · parqque · parrque · paruqe · pparque · praque

Frequency comparison

parfum#4,697
parque#38,963

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "parfum" and "parque" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "parfum" is a noun and "parque" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "parfum" or "parque"?
"parfum" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,697 in our French list, against #38,963 for "parque". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering parfum vs parque

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “parfum”; for a verb, it's “parque”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “parfum” 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