Which to use
“pédophile” is an adjective and “pédophilie” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #15,981
- “pédophile” frequency rank
- #15,982
- “pédophilie” frequency rank
- 31963
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | pédophile | pédophilie |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Attiré sexuellement par les enfants impubères. | Attirance sexuelle, pathologique et criminelle, envers les personnes impubères ou en début de puberté, qui domine la sexualité d'un individu. |
Where the eye mixes pédophile and pédophilie
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. pédophile runs 9 letters (CVCVCCVCV) against pédophilie's 10 (CVCVCCVCVV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: pédophile vs pédophilie
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: pédophile is \pe.dɔ.fil\ while pédophilie is \pe.dɔ.fi.li\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 31963, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
pédophile is recorded at frequency rank #15,981, classified as anadj, pronounced \pe.dɔ.fil\. pédophilie is at rank #15,982, tagged as anoun, pronounced \pe.dɔ.fi.li\.
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 31963, this pair ranks #300,453 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of pédophile vs pédophilie
Shared letters: dehilopé. Private to "pédophile": -. Private to "pédophilie": -.
"pédophile" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCVCV · "pédophilie" · 10 letters · shape CVCVCCVCVV
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "pédophile" and "pédophilie" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "pédophile" vs "pédophilie" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "pédophile" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "pédophilie" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #300,453 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "pédophile" and "pédophilie" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pédophiles vs pédophilie". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #300,453 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.