Which to use
“pattes” and “pentes” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #4,881
- “pattes” frequency rank
- #12,832
- “pentes” frequency rank
- 17713
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | pattes | pentes |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de patte. | Pluriel de pente. |
Where the eye mixes pattes and pentes
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between pattes and pentes
A purely visual mix-up. pattes (\pat\) and pentes (\pɑ̃t\) 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 17713, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
pattes is recorded at frequency rank #4,881, classified as anoun, pronounced \pat\. pentes is at rank #12,832, tagged as anoun, pronounced \pɑ̃t\.
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 17713, this pair ranks #381,830 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of pattes vs pentes
Shared letters: epst. Private to "pattes": a. Private to "pentes": n.
"pattes" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "pentes" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "pattes" and "pentes" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "pattes" or "pentes"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "pattes" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "pentes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #381,830 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "pattes" and "pentes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pentes vs pontet". 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 #381,830 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.