Which to use
“patent” is an adjective and “ptet” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #34,663
- “patent” frequency rank
- #21,432
- “ptet” frequency rank
- 56095
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | patent | ptet |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Clair, manifeste, qui est évident. | Variante de peut-être. |
Where the eye mixes patent and ptet
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between patent and ptet
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: patent is \pa.tɑ̃\ while ptet is \ptɛt\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs adverb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 56095, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
patent is recorded at frequency rank #34,663, classified as anadj, pronounced \pa.tɑ̃\. ptet is at rank #21,432, tagged as anadv, pronounced \ptɛt\.
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 56095, this pair ranks #123,292 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of patent vs ptet
Shared letters: ept. Private to "patent": an. Private to "ptet": -.
"patent" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC · "ptet" · 4 letters · shape CCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "patent" for "ptet" ever safe?
Which is more common, "patent" or "ptet"?
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 "patent" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ptet" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #123,292 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "patent" and "ptet" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "patent vs payen". 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 #123,292 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.