payésvsposésWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“payés” and “posés” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#5,591
“payés” frequency rank
#11,460
“posés” frequency rank
17051
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature payés posés
Definition Masculin pluriel de payé. Masculin pluriel de posé.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set payés and posés apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
payés
5 ch
posés

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. payés (\pɛ.je\) and posés (\po.ze\) 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 17051, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

payés is recorded at frequency rank #5,591, classified as anadj, pronounced \pɛ.je\. posés is at rank #11,460, tagged as anadj, pronounced \po.ze\.

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 17051, this pair ranks #385,044 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of payés vs posés

Shared letters: psé. Private to "payés": ay. Private to "posés": o.

"payés" · 5 letters · shape CVVVC  ·  "posés" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Frequency comparison

payés#5,591
posés#11,460

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "payés" and "posés" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\pɛ.je\ versus \po.ze\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "payés" or "posés"?
"payés" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,591 in our French list, against #11,460 for "posés". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering payés vs posés

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “payés” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list