Which to use
“paysan” and “persan” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #10,373
- “paysan” frequency rank
- #22,647
- “persan” frequency rank
- 33020
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | paysan | persan |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Villageois, relatif aux paysans. | Relatif à la Perse. |
Where the eye mixes paysan and persan
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. paysan (CVVCVC) and persan (CVCCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between paysan and persan
A purely visual mix-up. paysan (\pɛ.i.zɑ̃\) and persan (\pɛʁ.sɑ̃\) 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 33020, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
paysan is recorded at frequency rank #10,373, classified as anadj, pronounced \pɛ.i.zɑ̃\. persan is at rank #22,647, tagged as anadj, pronounced \pɛʁ.sɑ̃\.
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 33020, this pair ranks #293,401 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of paysan vs persan
Shared letters: anps. Private to "paysan": y. Private to "persan": er.
"paysan" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC · "persan" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "paysan" for "persan" ever safe?
Frequency check: "paysan" vs "persan" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "paysan" and "persan" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "paysan" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "persan" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #293,401 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "paysan" and "persan" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "persan vs persans". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #293,401 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.