pékinvspinWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#6,878
“pékin” frequency rank
#9,054
“pin” frequency rank
15932
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature pékin pin
Definition Étoffe de soie rayée où des bandes brillantes alternent avec des bandes mates. Grand arbre du genre Pinus, conifères résineux, monoïques, à aiguilles persistantes longues, minces, pointues et groupées en faisceaux par 2, 3 ou 5, aux cônes mâles ressemblant à des chatons et aux cônes femelles d’abord dressés puis se courbant ou bien pendants.

Where the spellings diverge

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

5 ch
pékin
3 ch
pin

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. pékin (\pe.kɛ̃\) and pin (\pɛ̃\) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 15932, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

pékin is recorded at frequency rank #6,878, classified as anoun, pronounced \pe.kɛ̃\. pin is at rank #9,054, 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 15932, this pair ranks #390,201 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of pékin vs pin

Shared letters: inp. Private to "pékin": . Private to "pin": -.

"pékin" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "pin" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequency comparison

pékin#6,878
pin#9,054

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "pékin" and "pin" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\pe.kɛ̃\ versus \pɛ̃\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "pékin" or "pin"?
"pékin" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,878 in our French list, against #9,054 for "pin". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering pékin vs pin

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 “pékin” 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