Which to use
“path” and “paye” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #32,109
- “path” frequency rank
- #3,028
- “paye” frequency rank
- 35137
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | path | paye |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Sentier, chemin, voie. | Salaire ou rémunération d’un travail. |
Where the eye mixes path and paye
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: path vs paye
A purely visual mix-up. path (\pɑːθ\) and paye (\pɛj\) 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 35137, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
path is recorded at frequency rank #32,109, classified as anoun, pronounced \pɑːθ\. paye is at rank #3,028, tagged as anoun, pronounced \pɛj\.
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 35137, this pair ranks #278,906 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of path vs paye
Shared letters: ap. Private to "path": ht. Private to "paye": ey.
"path" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "paye" · 4 letters · shape CVVV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "path" and "paye" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "path" vs "paye" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "path" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "paye" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #278,906 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "path" and "paye" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "path vs PTZ". 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 #278,906 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.