alimentervsalimentésWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#7,648
“alimenter” frequency rank
#28,821
“alimentés” frequency rank
36469
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature alimenter alimentés
Definition Nourrir ; pourvoir des aliments nécessaires. Participe passé masculin pluriel du verbe alimenter.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set alimenter and alimentés apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

9 ch
alimenter
9 ch
alimentés

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

This is the hard kind. alimenter and alimentés are pronounced identically (\a.li.mɑ̃.te\) and both work as averb. Neither the ear nor the grammar will rescue you; only the meaning does, so the glosses below are the whole decision. They share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 36469, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

alimenter is recorded at frequency rank #7,648, classified as averb, pronounced \a.li.mɑ̃.te\. alimentés is at rank #28,821, tagged as averb, pronounced \a.li.mɑ̃.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 36469, this pair ranks #269,370 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of alimenter vs alimentés

Shared letters: aeilmnt. Private to "alimenter": r. Private to "alimentés": .

"alimenter" · 9 letters · shape VCVCVCCVC  ·  "alimentés" · 9 letters · shape VCVCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • alimenterailmenter · aliemnter · alimenetr · alimennter · alimenterr · alimentre · alimentter · alimetner

Frequency comparison

alimenter#7,648
alimentés#28,821

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "alimenter" and "alimentés" be used interchangeably?
No. They are pronounced the same (\a.li.mɑ̃.te\), which is exactly why they get swapped in writing, but the dictionary meanings above are different, and pronunciation is no guide here.
Which is more common, "alimenter" or "alimentés"?
"alimenter" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,648 in our French list, against #28,821 for "alimentés". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering alimenter vs alimentés

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 “alimenter” 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