Which to use
“pers” and “pur” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #17,512
- “pers” frequency rank
- #3,034
- “pur” frequency rank
- 20546
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | pers | pur |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Qui est entre le bleu et le vert (surtout en parlant des yeux). | Qui est sans mélange, en parlant d’un produit, d’une émotion. |
Where the eye mixes pers and pur
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between pers and pur
A purely visual mix-up. pers (\pɛʁ\) and pur (\pyʁ\) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 20546, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
pers is recorded at frequency rank #17,512, classified as anadj, pronounced \pɛʁ\. pur is at rank #3,034, tagged as anadj, pronounced \pyʁ\.
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 20546, this pair ranks #367,738 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of pers vs pur
Shared letters: pr. Private to "pers": es. Private to "pur": u.
"pers" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "pur" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- pers ← eprs · perrs · pesr · ppers
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "pers" and "pur" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary French text, does "pers" or "pur" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "pers" and "pur" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "pers" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "pur" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #367,738 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "pers" and "pur" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "peep vs pers". 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 #367,738 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.