Which to use
“pes” and “pètes” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #33,825
- “pes” frequency rank
- #48,737
- “pètes” frequency rank
- 82562
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | pes | pètes |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de pe. | Pluriel de pète. |
Where the eye mixes pes and pètes
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. pes runs 3 letters (CVC) against pètes's 5 (CVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between pes and pètes
A purely visual mix-up. pes (\pe\) and pètes (\pɛt\) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 82562, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
pes is recorded at frequency rank #33,825, classified as anoun, pronounced \pe\. pètes is at rank #48,737, tagged as anoun, pronounced \pɛt\.
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 82562, this pair ranks #16,485 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of pes vs pètes
Shared letters: eps. Private to "pes": -. Private to "pètes": tè.
"pes" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "pètes" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "pes" for "pètes" ever safe?
Which is more common, "pes" or "pètes"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "pes" and "pètes" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "pes" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "pètes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #16,485 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "pes" and "pètes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "peep vs pètes". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #16,485 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.