percésvspérimésWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#34,666
“percés” frequency rank
#41,990
“périmés” frequency rank
76656
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature percés périmés
Definition Masculin pluriel de percé. Masculin pluriel de périmé.

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch
percés
7 ch
périmés

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. percés (\pɛʁ.se\) and périmés (\pe.ʁi.me\) 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 76656, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

percés is recorded at frequency rank #34,666, classified as anadj, pronounced \pɛʁ.se\. périmés is at rank #41,990, tagged as anadj, pronounced \pe.ʁi.me\.

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 76656, this pair ranks #30,524 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of percés vs périmés

Shared letters: prsé. Private to "percés": ce. Private to "périmés": im.

"percés" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "périmés" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC

Frequency comparison

percés#34,666
périmés#41,990

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "percés" and "périmés" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\pɛʁ.se\ versus \pe.ʁi.me\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "percés" or "périmés"?
"percés" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #34,666 in our French list, against #41,990 for "périmés". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering percés vs périmés

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 “percés” 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