Which to use
“péril” and “pétrin” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #7,489
- “péril” frequency rank
- #34,706
- “pétrin” frequency rank
- 42195
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | péril | pétrin |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Danger, risque, état où il y a quelque chose de fâcheux à craindre. | Coffre ou machine dans lesquels on pétrit le pain. |
Where the eye mixes péril and pétrin
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. péril runs 5 letters (CVCVC) against pétrin's 6 (CVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between péril and pétrin
A purely visual mix-up. péril (\pe.ʁil\) and pétrin (\pe.tʁɛ̃\) 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 42195, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
péril is recorded at frequency rank #7,489, classified as anoun, pronounced \pe.ʁil\. pétrin is at rank #34,706, tagged as anoun, pronounced \pe.tʁɛ̃\.
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 42195, this pair ranks #227,480 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of péril vs pétrin
Shared letters: ipré. Private to "péril": l. Private to "pétrin": nt.
"péril" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "pétrin" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "péril" and "pétrin" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "péril" vs "pétrin" - which ranks higher?
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 "péril" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "pétrin" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #227,480 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "péril" and "pétrin" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pétrin vs purin". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #227,480 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.