Which to use
“pères” and “perfs” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #5,596
- “pères” frequency rank
- #46,951
- “perfs” frequency rank
- 52547
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | pères | perfs |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de père. | Pluriel de perf. |
Where the eye mixes pères and perfs
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. pères (CVCVC) and perfs (CVCCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses pères with perfs
A purely visual mix-up. pères (\pɛʁ\) and perfs (\pɛʁf\) 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 52547, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
pères is recorded at frequency rank #5,596, classified as anoun, pronounced \pɛʁ\. perfs is at rank #46,951, tagged as anoun, pronounced \pɛʁf\.
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 52547, this pair ranks #146,990 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of pères vs perfs
Shared letters: eprs. Private to "pères": è. Private to "perfs": f.
"pères" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "perfs" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- perfs ← eprfs · pefrs · perffs · perfss · perrfs · persf · pperfs · prefs
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "pères" and "perfs" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "pères" or "perfs"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "pères" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "perfs" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #146,990 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "pères" and "perfs" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "perfs vs pètes". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #146,990 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.