Which to use
“perpétue” and “perpétuer” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #24,322
- “perpétue” frequency rank
- #20,813
- “perpétuer” frequency rank
- 45135
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | perpétue | perpétuer |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Première personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de perpétuer. | Rendre perpétuel ; faire durer sans cesse, constamment. |
Where the eye mixes perpétue and perpétuer
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. perpétue runs 8 letters (CVCCVCVV) against perpétuer's 9 (CVCCVCVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: perpétue vs perpétuer
A purely visual mix-up. perpétue (\pɛʁ.pe.ty\) and perpétuer (\pɛʁ.pe.tɥe\) 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 1 extra letter(s) - “perpétue” sits inside “perpétuer”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 45135, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
perpétue is recorded at frequency rank #24,322, classified as averb, pronounced \pɛʁ.pe.ty\. perpétuer is at rank #20,813, tagged as averb, pronounced \pɛʁ.pe.tɥe\.
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 45135, this pair ranks #205,119 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of perpétue vs perpétuer
Shared letters: eprtué. Private to "perpétue": -. Private to "perpétuer": -.
"perpétue" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVV · "perpétuer" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCVVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "perpétue" and "perpétuer" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "perpétue" or "perpétuer"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "perpétue" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "perpétuer" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #205,119 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "perpétue" and "perpétuer" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "perpétue vs perpétuent". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #205,119 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.