Which to use
“pattes” and “postes” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #4,881
- “pattes” frequency rank
- #2,192
- “postes” frequency rank
- 7073
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | pattes | postes |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de patte. | Pluriel de poste. |
Where the eye mixes pattes and postes
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: pattes vs postes
A purely visual mix-up. pattes (\pat\) and postes (\pɔst\) 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 7073, 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\. postes is at rank #2,192, tagged as anoun, pronounced \pɔst\.
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 7073, this pair ranks #424,332 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of pattes vs postes
Shared letters: epst. Private to "pattes": a. Private to "postes": o.
"pattes" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "postes" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "pattes" for "postes" ever safe?
Frequency check: "pattes" vs "postes" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
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 "postes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #424,332 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "pattes" and "postes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pattes 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 #424,332 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.