Which to use
“périls” is a noun and “périr” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #24,002
- “périls” frequency rank
- #27,204
- “périr” frequency rank
- 51206
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | périls | périr |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de péril. | Prendre fin ; cesser d’être. |
Where the eye mixes périls and périr
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. périls runs 6 letters (CVCVCC) against périr's 5 (CVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: périls vs périr
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: périls is \pe.ʁil\ while périr is \pe.ʁiʁ\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 51206, 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\. périr is at rank #27,204, tagged as averb, pronounced \pe.ʁiʁ\.
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 51206, this pair ranks #156,773 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of périls vs périr
Shared letters: ipré. Private to "périls": ls. Private to "périr": -.
"périls" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC · "périr" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "périls" and "périr" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary French text, does "périls" or "périr" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "périls" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "périr" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #156,773 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "périls" and "périr" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "peler vs périr". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #156,773 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.