pègrevspériWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#41,988
“pègre” frequency rank
#12,649
“péri” frequency rank
54637
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature pègre péri
Definition Catégorie des gens sans aveu qui vivent de friponnerie ou d’escroquerie. Génie féminin qui, dans les contes persans, joue un rôle analogue à celui des fées dans les contes occidentaux.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set pègre and péri apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
pègre
4 ch
péri

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. pègre (\pɛɡʁ\) and péri (\pe.ʁi\) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 54637, 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\. péri is at rank #12,649, tagged as anoun, pronounced \pe.ʁi\.

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 54637, this pair ranks #132,670 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of pègre vs péri

Shared letters: pr. Private to "pègre": egè. Private to "péri": .

"pègre" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "péri" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Frequency comparison

pègre#41,988
péri#12,649

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "pègre" and "péri" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\pɛɡʁ\ versus \pe.ʁi\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "pègre" or "péri"?
"péri" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,649 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 péri

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