Which to use
“parois” and “patrons” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #12,212
- “parois” frequency rank
- #5,798
- “patrons” frequency rank
- 18010
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | parois | patrons |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de paroi. | Pluriel de patron. |
Where the eye mixes parois and patrons
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. parois runs 6 letters (CVCVVC) against patrons's 7 (CVCCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses parois with patrons
A purely visual mix-up. parois (\pa.ʁwa\) and patrons (\pa.tʁɔ̃\) 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 18010, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
parois is recorded at frequency rank #12,212, classified as anoun, pronounced \pa.ʁwa\. patrons is at rank #5,798, tagged as anoun, pronounced \pa.tʁɔ̃\.
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 18010, this pair ranks #380,412 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of parois vs patrons
Shared letters: aoprs. Private to "parois": i. Private to "patrons": nt.
"parois" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC · "patrons" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "parois" for "patrons" ever safe?
Frequency check: "parois" vs "patrons" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "parois" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "patrons" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #380,412 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "parois" and "patrons" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "parois vs Parrish". 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 #380,412 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.