Which to use
“patins” and “patrons” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #22,643
- “patins” frequency rank
- #5,798
- “patrons” frequency rank
- 28441
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | patins | patrons |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de patin. | Pluriel de patron. |
Where the eye mixes patins and patrons
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. patins runs 6 letters (CVCVCC) against patrons's 7 (CVCCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses patins with patrons
A purely visual mix-up. patins (\pa.tɛ̃\) and patrons (\pa.tʁɔ̃\) 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 28441, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
patins is recorded at frequency rank #22,643, classified as anoun, pronounced \pa.tɛ̃\. patrons is at rank #5,798, tagged as anoun, pronounced \pa.tʁɔ̃\.
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 28441, this pair ranks #322,797 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of patins vs patrons
Shared letters: anpst. Private to "patins": i. Private to "patrons": or.
"patins" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC · "patrons" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "patins" and "patrons" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary French text, does "patins" or "patrons" show up more?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "patins" and "patrons" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "patins" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "patrons" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #322,797 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "patins" and "patrons" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "parias vs patins". 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 #322,797 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.