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 eye mixes pékin and pin
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. pékin runs 5 letters (CVCVC) against pin's 3 (CVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between pékin and pin
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": ké. Private to "pin": -.
"pékin" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "pin" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "pékin" and "pin" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "pékin" or "pin"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "pékin" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "pin" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #390,201 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "pékin" and "pin" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pin vs pio". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #390,201 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.