pensésvspercésWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#34,665
“pensés” frequency rank
#34,666
“percés” frequency rank
69331
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature pensés percés
Definition Masculin pluriel de pensé. Masculin pluriel de percé.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set pensés and percés apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
pensés
6 ch
percés

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. pensés (\pɑ̃.se\) and percés (\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 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 69331, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

pensés is recorded at frequency rank #34,665, classified as anadj, pronounced \pɑ̃.se\. percés is at rank #34,666, 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 69331, this pair ranks #55,555 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of pensés vs percés

Shared letters: epsé. Private to "pensés": n. Private to "percés": cr.

"pensés" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "percés" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Frequency comparison

pensés#34,665
percés#34,666

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "pensés" and "percés" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\pɑ̃.se\ versus \pɛʁ.se\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "pensés" or "percés"?
"pensés" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #34,665 in our French list, against #34,666 for "percés". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering pensés vs percés

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 “pensés” 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