parléesvspavéesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“parlées” and “pavées” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#36,990
“parlées” frequency rank
#41,952
“pavées” frequency rank
78942
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature parlées pavées
Definition Féminin pluriel de parlé. Féminin pluriel de pavé.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set parlées and pavées apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
parlées
6 ch
pavées

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. parlées (\paʁ.le\) and pavées (\pa.ve\) 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 78942, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

parlées is recorded at frequency rank #36,990, classified as anadj, pronounced \paʁ.le\. pavées is at rank #41,952, tagged as anadj, pronounced \pa.ve\.

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 78942, this pair ranks #24,452 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of parlées vs pavées

Shared letters: aepsé. Private to "parlées": lr. Private to "pavées": v.

"parlées" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVVC  ·  "pavées" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC

Frequency comparison

parlées#36,990
pavées#41,952

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "parlées" and "pavées" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\paʁ.le\ versus \pa.ve\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "parlées" or "pavées"?
"parlées" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #36,990 in our French list, against #41,952 for "pavées". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering parlées vs pavées

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “parlées” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list