Which to use
“partait” and “payait” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #12,015
- “partait” frequency rank
- #16,698
- “payait” frequency rank
- 28713
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | partait | payait |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Troisième personne du singulier de l’imparfait de partir. | Troisième personne du singulier de l’imparfait de l’indicatif de payer. |
Where the eye mixes partait and payait
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. partait runs 7 letters (CVCCVVC) against payait's 6 (CVVVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between partait and payait
A purely visual mix-up. partait (\paʁ.tɛ\) and payait (\pɛ.jɛ\) 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 28713, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
partait is recorded at frequency rank #12,015, classified as averb, pronounced \paʁ.tɛ\. payait is at rank #16,698, tagged as averb, pronounced \pɛ.jɛ\.
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 28713, this pair ranks #321,144 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of partait vs payait
Shared letters: aipt. Private to "partait": r. Private to "payait": y.
"partait" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVVC · "payait" · 6 letters · shape CVVVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "partait" for "payait" ever safe?
In ordinary French text, does "partait" or "payait" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "partait" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "payait" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #321,144 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "partait" and "payait" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "payais vs payait". 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 #321,144 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.