Which to use
“peindre” is a verb and “peine” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #7,607
- “peindre” frequency rank
- #483
- “peine” frequency rank
- 8090
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | peindre | peine |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Enduire ou couvrir de peinture, de couleur ou de pigments. | Punition, sanction ou châtiment infligé(e) pour une faute commise, pour un acte jugé répréhensible ou coupable, et en particulier punition pour une infraction à la loi et prononcée par un jugement. |
Where the eye mixes peindre and peine
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. peindre runs 7 letters (CVVCCCV) against peine's 5 (CVVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses peindre with peine
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: peindre is \pɛ̃dʁ\ while peine is \pɛn\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 8090, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
peindre is recorded at frequency rank #7,607, classified as averb, pronounced \pɛ̃dʁ\. peine is at rank #483, tagged as anoun, pronounced \pɛn\.
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 8090, this pair ranks #421,177 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of peindre vs peine
Shared letters: einp. Private to "peindre": dr. Private to "peine": -.
"peindre" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCCV · "peine" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "peindre" and "peine" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "peindre" or "peine"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "peindre" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "peine" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #421,177 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "peindre" and "peine" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "peine vs piétiné". 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 #421,177 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.