peservspisterWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#8,751
“peser” frequency rank
#41,454
“pister” frequency rank
50205
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature peser pister
Definition Examiner la pesanteur d’une chose, la rapporter à un poids déterminé. Suivre les traces d’un animal.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set peser and pister apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
peser
6 ch
pister

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. peser (\pə.ze\) and pister (\pis.te\) 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 50205, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

peser is recorded at frequency rank #8,751, classified as averb, pronounced \pə.ze\. pister is at rank #41,454, tagged as averb, pronounced \pis.te\.

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 50205, this pair ranks #164,469 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of peser vs pister

Shared letters: eprs. Private to "peser": -. Private to "pister": it.

"peser" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "pister" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • peserepser · peesr · peserr · pesre · pesser · ppeser · pseer
  • pisteripster · pisetr · pisster · pisterr · pistre · pistter · pitser · ppister

Frequency comparison

peser#8,751
pister#41,454

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "peser" and "pister" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\pə.ze\ versus \pis.te\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "peser" or "pister"?
"peser" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,751 in our French list, against #41,454 for "pister". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering peser vs pister

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 “peser” 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