Which to use
“périls” and “pertes” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #24,002
- “périls” frequency rank
- #3,485
- “pertes” frequency rank
- 27487
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | périls | pertes |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de péril. | Pluriel de perte. |
Where the eye mixes périls and pertes
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. périls (CVCVCC) and pertes (CVCCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between périls and pertes
A purely visual mix-up. périls (\pe.ʁil\) and pertes (\pɛʁt\) 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 27487, 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\. pertes is at rank #3,485, tagged as anoun, pronounced \pɛʁt\.
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 27487, this pair ranks #328,657 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of périls vs pertes
Shared letters: prs. Private to "périls": ilé. Private to "pertes": et.
"périls" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC · "pertes" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- pertes ← eprtes · perets · perrtes · pertess · pertse · perttes · petres · ppertes
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "périls" for "pertes" ever safe?
Frequency check: "périls" vs "pertes" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
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 "pertes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #328,657 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "périls" and "pertes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "parias vs périls". 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 #328,657 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.