Which to use
“partais” and “partes” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #26,123
- “partais” frequency rank
- #35,195
- “partes” frequency rank
- 61318
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | partais | partes |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Première personne du singulier de l’imparfait de partir. | De partir. |
Where the eye mixes partais and partes
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. partais runs 7 letters (CVCCVVC) against partes's 6 (CVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses partais with partes
A purely visual mix-up. partais (\paʁ.tɛ\) and partes (\paʁt\) 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 61318, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
partais is recorded at frequency rank #26,123, classified as averb, pronounced \paʁ.tɛ\. partes is at rank #35,195, tagged as averb, pronounced \paʁt\.
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 61318, this pair ranks #92,908 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of partais vs partes
Shared letters: aprst. Private to "partais": i. Private to "partes": e.
"partais" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVVC · "partes" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "partais" for "partes" ever safe?
Which is more common, "partais" or "partes"?
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 "partais" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "partes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #92,908 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "partais" and "partes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "partes vs pètes". 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 #92,908 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.