Which to use
“pavé” is a noun and “pay” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #10,549
- “pavé” frequency rank
- #18,553
- “pay” frequency rank
- 29102
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | pavé | pay |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Bloc, généralement cubique et fait de pierre dure (basalte, granit, grès, porphyre…), spécialement taillé pour confectionner une chaussée de route, de rue, ou d’un sol quelconque. | Payer, verser une somme pour régler un dû. |
Where the eye mixes pavé and pay
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses pavé with pay
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: pavé is \pa.ve\ while pay is \peɪ\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 29102, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
pavé is recorded at frequency rank #10,549, classified as anoun, pronounced \pa.ve\. pay is at rank #18,553, tagged as averb, pronounced \peɪ\.
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 29102, this pair ranks #318,735 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of pavé vs pay
Shared letters: ap. Private to "pavé": vé. Private to "pay": y.
"pavé" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "pay" · 3 letters · shape CVV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "pavé" for "pay" ever safe?
Which is more common, "pavé" or "pay"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "pavé" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "pay" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #318,735 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "pavé" and "pay" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pay vs pio". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #318,735 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.