Which to use
“penchés” and “percées” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #36,095
- “penchés” frequency rank
- #27,905
- “percées” frequency rank
- 64000
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | penchés | percées |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Masculin pluriel de penché. | Féminin pluriel de percé. |
Where the eye mixes penchés and percées
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. penchés (CVCCCVC) and percées (CVCCVVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses penchés with percées
A purely visual mix-up. penchés (\pɑ̃.ʃe\) and percées (\pɛʁ.se\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 64000, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
penchés is recorded at frequency rank #36,095, classified as anadj, pronounced \pɑ̃.ʃe\. percées is at rank #27,905, tagged as anadj, pronounced \pɛʁ.se\.
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 64000, this pair ranks #79,164 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of penchés vs percées
Shared letters: cepsé. Private to "penchés": hn. Private to "percées": r.
"penchés" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC · "percées" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "penchés" for "percées" ever safe?
In ordinary French text, does "penchés" or "percées" show up more?
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 "penchés" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "percées" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #79,164 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "penchés" and "percées" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pencha vs penchés". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #79,164 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.