accèdentvsachèventWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“accèdent” and “achèvent” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#28,812
“accèdent” frequency rank
#29,212
“achèvent” frequency rank
58024
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature accèdent achèvent
Definition Troisième personne du pluriel de l’indicatif présent du verbe accéder. Troisième personne du pluriel de l’indicatif présent du verbe achever.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set accèdent and achèvent apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
accèdent
8 ch
achèvent

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. accèdent (\ak.sɛd\) and achèvent (\a.ʃɛv\) 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 58024, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

accèdent is recorded at frequency rank #28,812, classified as averb, pronounced \ak.sɛd\. achèvent is at rank #29,212, tagged as averb, pronounced \a.ʃɛv\.

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 58024, this pair ranks #111,520 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of accèdent vs achèvent

Shared letters: acentè. Private to "accèdent": d. Private to "achèvent": hv.

"accèdent" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCVCC  ·  "achèvent" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCVCC

Frequency comparison

accèdent#28,812
achèvent#29,212

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "accèdent" and "achèvent" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\ak.sɛd\ versus \a.ʃɛv\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "accèdent" or "achèvent"?
"accèdent" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #28,812 in our French list, against #29,212 for "achèvent". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering accèdent vs achèvent

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “accèdent” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list