Which to use
“précepte” and “prétexte” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #47,536
- “précepte” frequency rank
- #4,271
- “prétexte” frequency rank
- 51807
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | précepte | prétexte |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Règle ; leçon ; enseignement. | Cause simulée, supposée ; raison apparente dont on se sert pour cacher le véritable motif d’un dessein, d’une action. |
Where the eye mixes précepte and prétexte
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. précepte and prétexte follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CCVCVCCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: précepte vs prétexte
A purely visual mix-up. précepte (\pʁe.sɛpt\) and prétexte (\pʁe.tɛkst\) 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 51807, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
précepte is recorded at frequency rank #47,536, classified as anoun, pronounced \pʁe.sɛpt\. prétexte is at rank #4,271, tagged as anoun, pronounced \pʁe.tɛkst\.
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 51807, this pair ranks #152,327 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of précepte vs prétexte
Shared letters: eprté. Private to "précepte": c. Private to "prétexte": x.
"précepte" · 8 letters · shape CCVCVCCV · "prétexte" · 8 letters · shape CCVCVCCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "précepte" for "prétexte" ever safe?
Which is more common, "précepte" or "prétexte"?
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 "précepte" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "prétexte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #152,327 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "précepte" and "prétexte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "précepte vs précité". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #152,327 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.