Which to use
“périr” is a verb and “pris” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #27,204
- “périr” frequency rank
- #302
- “pris” frequency rank
- 27506
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | périr | pris |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Prendre fin ; cesser d’être. | Occupé, pas disponible. |
Where the eye mixes périr and pris
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. périr runs 5 letters (CVCVC) against pris's 4 (CCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: périr vs pris
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: périr is \pe.ʁiʁ\ while pris is \pʁi\. 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 (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 27506, 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\. pris is at rank #302, tagged as anadj, pronounced \pʁi\.
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 27506, this pair ranks #328,542 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of périr vs pris
Shared letters: ipr. Private to "périr": é. Private to "pris": s.
"périr" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "pris" · 4 letters · shape CCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- pris ← pirs · ppris · priss · prris · prsi · rpis
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "périr" and "pris" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "périr" or "pris"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "périr" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "pris" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #328,542 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "périr" and "pris" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "peler vs périr". 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 #328,542 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.