Which to use
“pire” is an adjective and “pri” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #659
- “pire” frequency rank
- #26,137
- “pri” frequency rank
- 26796
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | pire | pri |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Comparatif de mauvais. Plus mauvais, plus défectueux, plus nuisible. | Argile, glaise. |
Where the eye mixes pire and pri
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: pire vs pri
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: pire is \piʁ\ while pri is \ˈpriː\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 26796, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
pire is recorded at frequency rank #659, classified as anadj, pronounced \piʁ\. pri is at rank #26,137, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ˈpriː\.
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 26796, this pair ranks #332,815 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of pire vs pri
Shared letters: ipr. Private to "pire": e. Private to "pri": -.
"pire" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "pri" · 3 letters · shape CCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- pire ← ipre · pirre · ppire · prie
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "pire" and "pri" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary French text, does "pire" or "pri" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "pire" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "pri" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #332,815 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "pire" and "pri" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "prep vs pri". 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 #332,815 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.