Which to use
“pâtés” and “pute” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #32,137
- “pâtés” frequency rank
- #3,284
- “pute” frequency rank
- 35421
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | pâtés | pute |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de pâté. | Prostituée. |
Where the eye mixes pâtés and pute
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: pâtés vs pute
A purely visual mix-up. pâtés (\pɑ.te\) and pute (\pyt\) 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 35421, 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\. pute is at rank #3,284, tagged as anoun, pronounced \pyt\.
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 35421, this pair ranks #276,877 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of pâtés vs pute
Shared letters: pt. Private to "pâtés": sâé. Private to "pute": eu.
"pâtés" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "pute" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- pute ← ppute · ptue · putte · upte
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "pâtés" and "pute" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "pâtés" vs "pute" - which ranks higher?
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 "pâtés" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "pute" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #276,877 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "pâtés" and "pute" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pâtés vs pètes". 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 #276,877 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.