Which to use
“pavés” and “payés” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #14,754
- “pavés” frequency rank
- #5,591
- “payés” frequency rank
- 20345
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | pavés | payés |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Masculin pluriel de pavé. | Masculin pluriel de payé. |
Where the eye mixes pavés and payés
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. pavés (CVCVC) and payés (CVVVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between pavés and payés
A purely visual mix-up. pavés (\pa.ve\) and payés (\pɛ.je\) 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 a single letter - v in “pavés” becomes y in “payés”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 20345, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
pavés is recorded at frequency rank #14,754, classified as anadj, pronounced \pa.ve\. payés is at rank #5,591, tagged as anadj, pronounced \pɛ.je\.
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 20345, this pair ranks #368,747 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of pavés vs payés
Shared letters: apsé. Private to "pavés": v. Private to "payés": y.
"pavés" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "payés" · 5 letters · shape CVVVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "pavés" for "payés" ever safe?
Which is more common, "pavés" or "payés"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "pavés" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "payés" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #368,747 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "pavés" and "payés" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pavés vs pètes". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #368,747 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.