pègrevsperceWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#41,988
“pègre” frequency rank
#18,016
“perce” frequency rank
60004
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature pègre perce
Definition Catégorie des gens sans aveu qui vivent de friponnerie ou d’escroquerie. Outil pour percer.

Where the spellings diverge

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

5 ch
pègre
5 ch
perce

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. pègre (\pɛɡʁ\) and perce (\pɛʁs\) 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 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 60004, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

pègre is recorded at frequency rank #41,988, classified as anoun, pronounced \pɛɡʁ\. perce is at rank #18,016, tagged as anoun, pronounced \pɛʁs\.

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 60004, this pair ranks #99,986 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of pègre vs perce

Shared letters: epr. Private to "pègre": . Private to "perce": c.

"pègre" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "perce" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • perceeprce · pecre · percce · perec · perrce · pperce · prece

Frequency comparison

pègre#41,988
perce#18,016

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "pègre" and "perce" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\pɛɡʁ\ versus \pɛʁs\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "pègre" or "perce"?
"perce" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #18,016 in our French list, against #41,988 for "pègre". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering pègre vs perce

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 “pègre” 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