Which to use
“PME” and “psy” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #5,800
- “PME” frequency rank
- #6,544
- “psy” frequency rank
- 12344
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | PME | psy |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Entreprise petite ou moyenne (dont la taille est supérieure à 10 salariés et inférieure à 250 salariés et dont le chiffre d’affaires annuel n’excède pas 50 millions d’euros). | Psychologue, psychiatre, psychothérapeute ou psychanalyste (la plupart du temps sans que soit faite la distinction entre les uns et les autres). |
Where the eye mixes PME and psy
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Why the eye confuses PME with psy
A purely visual mix-up. PME (\pe.ɛm.ə\) and psy (\psi\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 12344, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
PME is recorded at frequency rank #5,800, classified as anoun, pronounced \pe.ɛm.ə\. psy is at rank #6,544, tagged as anoun, pronounced \psi\.
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 12344, this pair ranks #405,642 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of PME vs psy
Shared letters: p. Private to "PME": em. Private to "psy": sy.
"PME" · 3 letters · shape CCV · "psy" · 3 letters · shape CCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "PME" for "psy" ever safe?
Which is more common, "PME" or "psy"?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "PME" and "psy" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "PME" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "psy" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #405,642 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "PME" and "psy" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pio vs psy". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #405,642 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.