Which to use
“pavées” and “privées” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #41,952
- “pavées” frequency rank
- #3,788
- “privées” frequency rank
- 45740
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | pavées | privées |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Féminin pluriel de pavé. | Féminin pluriel de privé. |
Where the eye mixes pavées and privées
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. pavées runs 6 letters (CVCVVC) against privées's 7 (CCVCVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses pavées with privées
A purely visual mix-up. pavées (\pa.ve\) and privées (\pʁi.ve\) 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 45740, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
pavées is recorded at frequency rank #41,952, classified as anadj, pronounced \pa.ve\. privées is at rank #3,788, tagged as anadj, pronounced \pʁi.ve\.
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 45740, this pair ranks #200,390 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of pavées vs privées
Shared letters: epsvé. Private to "pavées": a. Private to "privées": ir.
"pavées" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC · "privées" · 7 letters · shape CCVCVVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "pavées" and "privées" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "pavées" or "privées"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "pavées" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "privées" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #200,390 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "pavées" and "privées" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pactes vs pavées". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #200,390 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.