Which to use
“pénétré” is an adjective and “pénétrer” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #16,976
- “pénétré” frequency rank
- #8,019
- “pénétrer” frequency rank
- 24995
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | pénétré | pénétrer |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Rempli, convaincu. | Passer à travers ; entrer fort avant. |
Same sound, different letters: pénétré vs pénétrer
Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 6 letters. pénétré runs 7 letters (CVCVCCV) against pénétrer's 8 (CVCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Homophone desk: pénétré vs pénétrer
Say them out loud and nothing separates them: pénétré and pénétrer carry the same recorded pronunciation, \pe.ne.tʁe\. Grammar is what tells them apart: one is anadjective, the other averb, 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 24995, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
pénétré is recorded at frequency rank #16,976, classified as anadj, pronounced \pe.ne.tʁe\. pénétrer is at rank #8,019, tagged as averb, pronounced \pe.ne.tʁe\.
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 24995, this pair ranks #343,388 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of pénétré vs pénétrer
Shared letters: nprté. Private to "pénétré": -. Private to "pénétrer": e.
"pénétré" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV · "pénétrer" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "pénétré" for "pénétrer" ever safe?
Frequency check: "pénétré" vs "pénétrer" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Sound matches; spelling doesn't. Use the exits below to lock the right form or check a cousin pair.
- Full dictionary entry for "pénétré" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "pénétrer" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #343,388 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "pénétré" and "pénétrer" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pénétré vs perpétré". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #343,388 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.