Which to use
“pavé” and “pré” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #10,549
- “pavé” frequency rank
- #2,849
- “pré” frequency rank
- 13398
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | pavé | pré |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | Champ où pousse de l’herbe (naturelle ou cultivée), où l’on recueille du foin, ou qui sert au pâturage. |
Where the eye mixes pavé and pré
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: pavé vs pré
A purely visual mix-up. pavé (\pa.ve\) and pré (\pʁe\) 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 13398, 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\. pré is at rank #2,849, tagged as anoun, pronounced \pʁe\.
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 13398, this pair ranks #401,182 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of pavé vs pré
Shared letters: pé. Private to "pavé": av. Private to "pré": r.
"pavé" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "pré" · 3 letters · shape CCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "pavé" and "pré" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary French text, does "pavé" or "pré" show up more?
What to do next
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 "pré" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #401,182 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "pavé" and "pré" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "parl vs pavé". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #401,182 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.