pèsentvspeserWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#14,775
“pèsent” frequency rank
#8,751
“peser” frequency rank
23526
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature pèsent peser
Definition Troisième personne du pluriel du présent de l’indicatif de peser. Examiner la pesanteur d’une chose, la rapporter à un poids déterminé.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set pèsent and peser apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
pèsent
5 ch
peser

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. pèsent (\pɛz\) and peser (\pə.ze\) 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 23526, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

pèsent is recorded at frequency rank #14,775, classified as averb, pronounced \pɛz\. peser is at rank #8,751, tagged as averb, pronounced \pə.ze\.

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 23526, this pair ranks #352,001 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of pèsent vs peser

Shared letters: eps. Private to "pèsent": ntè. Private to "peser": r.

"pèsent" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC  ·  "peser" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • peserepser · peesr · peserr · pesre · pesser · ppeser · pseer

Frequency comparison

pèsent#14,775
peser#8,751

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "pèsent" and "peser" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\pɛz\ versus \pə.ze\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "pèsent" or "peser"?
"peser" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,751 in our French list, against #14,775 for "pèsent". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering pèsent vs peser

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 “pèsent” 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