Which to use
“parsons” and “payons” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #32,102
- “parsons” frequency rank
- #28,286
- “payons” frequency rank
- 60388
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | parsons | payons |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Première personne du pluriel de l’indicatif présent du verbe parser. | Première personne du pluriel du présent de l’indicatif de payer. |
Where the eye mixes parsons and payons
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. parsons runs 7 letters (CVCCVCC) against payons's 6 (CVVVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses parsons with payons
A purely visual mix-up. parsons (\paʁ.sɔ̃\) and payons (\pɛ.jɔ̃\) 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 60388, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
parsons is recorded at frequency rank #32,102, classified as averb, pronounced \paʁ.sɔ̃\. payons is at rank #28,286, tagged as averb, pronounced \pɛ.jɔ̃\.
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 60388, this pair ranks #97,867 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of parsons vs payons
Shared letters: anops. Private to "parsons": r. Private to "payons": y.
"parsons" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC · "payons" · 6 letters · shape CVVVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "parsons" and "payons" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "parsons" or "payons"?
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 "parsons" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "payons" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #97,867 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "parsons" and "payons" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "parsons vs persans". 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 #97,867 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.