Which to use
“peins” is a verb and “pins” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #48,098
- “peins” frequency rank
- #10,922
- “pins” frequency rank
- 59020
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | peins | pins |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Première personne du singulier de l’indicatif présent de peindre. | Pluriel de pin. |
Same sound, different letters: peins vs pins
Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 4 letters. peins runs 5 letters (CVVCC) against pins's 4 (CVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Homophone desk: peins vs pins
Say them out loud and nothing separates them: peins and pins carry the same recorded pronunciation, \pɛ̃\. Grammar is what tells them apart: one is averb, the other anoun, so most sentences will only accept one of them. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 59020, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
peins is recorded at frequency rank #48,098, classified as averb, pronounced \pɛ̃\. pins is at rank #10,922, tagged as anoun, pronounced \pɛ̃\.
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 59020, this pair ranks #105,546 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of peins vs pins
Shared letters: inps. Private to "peins": e. Private to "pins": -.
"peins" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC · "pins" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "peins" for "pins" ever safe?
In ordinary French text, does "peins" or "pins" show up more?
After this comparison
You've separated the homophone pair "peins" / "pins". Follow the links when you need the full entry or a neighbour that trips the same ear.
- Full dictionary entry for "peins" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "pins" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #105,546 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "peins" and "pins" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "peins vs pètes". 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 #105,546 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.