Which to use
“peindre” and “plaindre” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #7,607
- “peindre” frequency rank
- #4,267
- “plaindre” frequency rank
- 11874
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | peindre | plaindre |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Enduire ou couvrir de peinture, de couleur ou de pigments. | Prendre en pitié les maux d’autrui, en être touché, témoigner la compassion que l’on éprouve pour quelqu’un. |
Where the eye mixes peindre and plaindre
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. peindre runs 7 letters (CVVCCCV) against plaindre's 8 (CCVVCCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses peindre with plaindre
A purely visual mix-up. peindre (\pɛ̃dʁ\) and plaindre (\plɛ̃dʁ\) 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 11874, 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\. plaindre is at rank #4,267, tagged as averb, pronounced \plɛ̃dʁ\.
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 11874, this pair ranks #407,503 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of peindre vs plaindre
Shared letters: deinpr. Private to "peindre": -. Private to "plaindre": al.
"peindre" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCCV · "plaindre" · 8 letters · shape CCVVCCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "peindre" and "plaindre" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary French text, does "peindre" or "plaindre" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "peindre" and "plaindre" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "peindre" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "plaindre" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #407,503 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "peindre" and "plaindre" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "peindre vs poindre". 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 #407,503 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.