périrvspéritWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“périr” and “périt” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#27,204
“périr” frequency rank
#40,446
“périt” frequency rank
67650
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature périr périt
Definition Prendre fin ; cesser d’être. Troisième personne du singulier de l’indicatif présent de périr.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set périr and périt apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
périr
5 ch
périt

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. périr (\pe.ʁiʁ\) and périt (\pe.ʁi\) 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 a single letter - r in “périr” becomes t in “périt”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 67650, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

périr is recorded at frequency rank #27,204, classified as averb, pronounced \pe.ʁiʁ\. périt is at rank #40,446, tagged as averb, pronounced \pe.ʁi\.

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 67650, this pair ranks #62,474 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of périr vs périt

Shared letters: ipré. Private to "périr": -. Private to "périt": t.

"périr" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "périt" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Frequency comparison

périr#27,204
périt#40,446

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "périr" and "périt" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\pe.ʁiʁ\ versus \pe.ʁi\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "périr" or "périt"?
"périr" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #27,204 in our French list, against #40,446 for "périt". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering périr vs périt

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “périr” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list