percésvsplacésWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#34,666
“percés” frequency rank
#5,062
“placés” frequency rank
39728
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature percés placés
Definition Masculin pluriel de percé. Masculin pluriel de placé.

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch
percés
6 ch
placés

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. percés (\pɛʁ.se\) and placés (\pla.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 39728, 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\. placés is at rank #5,062, tagged as anadj, pronounced \pla.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 39728, this pair ranks #245,827 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of percés vs placés

Shared letters: cpsé. Private to "percés": er. Private to "placés": al.

"percés" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "placés" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC

Frequency comparison

percés#34,666
placés#5,062

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "percés" and "placés" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\pɛʁ.se\ versus \pla.se\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "percés" or "placés"?
"placés" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,062 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 percés vs placés

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