Which to use
“perfs” and “pètes” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #46,951
- “perfs” frequency rank
- #48,737
- “pètes” frequency rank
- 95688
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | perfs | pètes |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de perf. | Pluriel de pète. |
Where the eye mixes perfs and pètes
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. perfs (CVCCC) and pètes (CVCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: perfs vs pètes
A purely visual mix-up. perfs (\pɛʁf\) and pètes (\pɛt\) 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 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 95688, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
perfs is recorded at frequency rank #46,951, classified as anoun, pronounced \pɛʁf\. pètes is at rank #48,737, tagged as anoun, pronounced \pɛt\.
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 95688, this pair ranks #984 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of perfs vs pètes
Shared letters: eps. Private to "perfs": fr. Private to "pètes": tè.
"perfs" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC · "pètes" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- perfs ← eprfs · pefrs · perffs · perfss · perrfs · persf · pperfs · prefs
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "perfs" and "pètes" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "perfs" or "pètes"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "perfs" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "pètes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #984 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "perfs" and "pètes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "peep 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 #984 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.