Which to use
“adolescence” and “adolescente” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #7,268
- “adolescence” frequency rank
- #11,514
- “adolescente” frequency rank
- 18782
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | adolescence | adolescente |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Période de la vie comprise entre le moment où l’être humain entre dans la puberté et le moment où il atteint la majorité civile, où il sera alors considéré comme un adulte. | Jeune fille pubère qui n’est plus une enfant et qui est en train de devenir une adulte. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set adolescence and adolescente apart are highlighted. They share 10 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
A purely visual mix-up. adolescence (\a.dɔ.lɛ.sɑ̃s\) and adolescente (\a.dɔ.lɛ.sɑ̃t\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by a single letter - c in “adolescence” becomes t in “adolescente”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 18782, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
adolescence is recorded at frequency rank #7,268, classified as anoun, pronounced \a.dɔ.lɛ.sɑ̃s\. adolescente is at rank #11,514, tagged as anoun, pronounced \a.dɔ.lɛ.sɑ̃t\.
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 18782, this pair ranks #376,602 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of adolescence vs adolescente
Shared letters: acdelnos. Private to "adolescence": -. Private to "adolescente": t.
"adolescence" · 11 letters · shape VCVCVCCVCCV · "adolescente" · 11 letters · shape VCVCVCCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- adolescence ← addolescence · adloescence · adoelscence · adolecsence · adolesccence · adolescecne · adolescencce · adolescenec
- adolescente ← addolescente · adloescente · adoelscente · adolecsente · adolesccente · adolescenet · adolescennte · adolescentte
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "adolescence" and "adolescente" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "adolescence" or "adolescente"?
Remembering adolescence vs adolescente
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 “adolescence” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable