Which to use
“périls” and “period” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #24,002
- “périls” frequency rank
- #44,088
- “period” frequency rank
- 68090
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | périls | period |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de péril. | Période. |
Where the eye mixes périls and period
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. périls (CVCVCC) and period (CVCVVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: périls vs period
A purely visual mix-up. périls (\pe.ʁil\) and period (['pɪərɪəd]) 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 68090, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
périls is recorded at frequency rank #24,002, classified as anoun, pronounced \pe.ʁil\. period is at rank #44,088, tagged as anoun, pronounced ['pɪərɪəd].
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 68090, this pair ranks #60,606 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of périls vs period
Shared letters: ipr. Private to "périls": lsé. Private to "period": deo.
"périls" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC · "period" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- period ← epriod · peirod · perido · periodd · peroid · perriod · pperiod · preiod
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "périls" and "period" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "périls" or "period"?
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 "périls" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "period" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #60,606 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "périls" and "period" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "period vs pernod". 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 #60,606 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.