Which to use
“passés” and “paumés” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #3,556
- “passés” frequency rank
- #39,447
- “paumés” frequency rank
- 43003
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | passés | paumés |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Masculin pluriel de passé. | Masculin pluriel de paumé. |
Where the eye mixes passés and paumés
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. passés (CVCCVC) and paumés (CVVCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between passés and paumés
A purely visual mix-up. passés (\pa.se\) and paumés (\po.me\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 43003, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
passés is recorded at frequency rank #3,556, classified as anadj, pronounced \pa.se\. paumés is at rank #39,447, tagged as anadj, pronounced \po.me\.
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 43003, this pair ranks #221,332 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of passés vs paumés
Shared letters: apsé. Private to "passés": -. Private to "paumés": mu.
"passés" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "paumés" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "passés" and "paumés" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "passés" or "paumés"?
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 "passés" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "paumés" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #221,332 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "passés" and "paumés" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pactes vs paumés". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #221,332 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.