Which to use
“plaise” is a verb and “plans” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #12,217
- “plaise” frequency rank
- #1,929
- “plans” frequency rank
- 14146
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | plaise | plans |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Première personne du singulier du présent du subjonctif de plaire. | Masculin pluriel de plan. |
Where the eye mixes plaise and plans
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between plaise and plans
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: plaise is \plɛz\ while plans is \plɑ̃\. 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 (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14146, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
plaise is recorded at frequency rank #12,217, classified as averb, pronounced \plɛz\. plans is at rank #1,929, tagged as anadj, pronounced \plɑ̃\.
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 14146, this pair ranks #397,992 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of plaise vs plans
Shared letters: alps. Private to "plaise": ei. Private to "plans": n.
"plaise" · 6 letters · shape CCVVCV · "plans" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "plaise" and "plans" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "plaise" vs "plans" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "plaise" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "plans" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #397,992 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "plaise" and "plans" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "plaigne vs plaise". 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 #397,992 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.