Which to use
“pelles” and “pilules” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #29,073
- “pelles” frequency rank
- #15,718
- “pilules” frequency rank
- 44791
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | pelles | pilules |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de pelle. | Pluriel de pilule. |
Where the eye mixes pelles and pilules
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses pelles with pilules
A purely visual mix-up. pelles (\pɛl\) and pilules (\pi.lyl\) 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 44791, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
pelles is recorded at frequency rank #29,073, classified as anoun, pronounced \pɛl\. pilules is at rank #15,718, tagged as anoun, pronounced \pi.lyl\.
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 44791, this pair ranks #207,792 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of pelles vs pilules
Shared letters: elps. Private to "pelles": -. Private to "pilules": iu.
"pelles" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "pilules" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "pelles" for "pilules" ever safe?
Frequency check: "pelles" vs "pilules" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "pelles" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "pilules" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #207,792 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "pelles" and "pilules" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pelles vs pillée". 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 #207,792 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.