Which to use
“pâtés” and “pète” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #32,137
- “pâtés” frequency rank
- #10,769
- “pète” frequency rank
- 42906
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | pâtés | pète |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de pâté. | Joint. |
Where the eye mixes pâtés and pète
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between pâtés and pète
A purely visual mix-up. pâtés (\pɑ.te\) and pète (\pɛt\) 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 42906, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
pâtés is recorded at frequency rank #32,137, classified as anoun, pronounced \pɑ.te\. pète is at rank #10,769, tagged as anoun, pronounced \pɛt\.
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 42906, this pair ranks #222,017 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of pâtés vs pète
Shared letters: pt. Private to "pâtés": sâé. Private to "pète": eè.
"pâtés" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "pète" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "pâtés" for "pète" ever safe?
Frequency check: "pâtés" vs "pète" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "pâtés" and "pète" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "pâtés" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "pète" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #222,017 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "pâtés" and "pète" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pâtés vs pètes". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #222,017 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.