Which to use
“passez” and “payez” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #5,164
- “passez” frequency rank
- #15,204
- “payez” frequency rank
- 20368
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | passez | payez |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Deuxième personne du pluriel du présent de l’indicatif de passer. | Deuxième personne du pluriel du présent de l’indicatif de payer. |
Where the eye mixes passez and payez
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between passez and payez
A purely visual mix-up. passez (\pa.se\) and payez (\pɛ.je\) 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 20368, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
passez is recorded at frequency rank #5,164, classified as averb, pronounced \pa.se\. payez is at rank #15,204, tagged as averb, pronounced \pɛ.je\.
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 20368, this pair ranks #368,638 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of passez vs payez
Shared letters: aepz. Private to "passez": s. Private to "payez": y.
"passez" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "payez" · 5 letters · shape CVVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "passez" for "payez" ever safe?
Which is more common, "passez" or "payez"?
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 "passez" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "payez" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #368,638 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "passez" and "payez" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "payez vs Prez". 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 #368,638 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.