Which to use
“près” is an adverb and “prêtés” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #294
- “près” frequency rank
- #30,756
- “prêtés” frequency rank
- 31050
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | près | prêtés |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | À petite distance, à proximité. | Masculin pluriel de prêté. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set près and prêtés apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: près is \pʁɛ\ while prêtés is \pʁɛ.te\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adverb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 31050, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
près is recorded at frequency rank #294, classified as anadv, pronounced \pʁɛ\. prêtés is at rank #30,756, tagged as anadj, pronounced \pʁɛ.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 31050, this pair ranks #306,313 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of près vs prêtés
Shared letters: prs. Private to "près": è. Private to "prêtés": téê.
"près" · 4 letters · shape CCVC · "prêtés" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "près" and "prêtés" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "près" or "prêtés"?
Remembering près vs prêtés
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need an adverb, it's “près”; for an adjective, it's “prêtés”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “près” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable