Which to use
“caractérise” is a verb and “caractérisées” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #7,666
- “caractérise” frequency rank
- #31,872
- “caractérisées” frequency rank
- 39538
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | caractérise | caractérisées |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Première personne du singulier de l’indicatif présent du verbe caractériser. | Féminin pluriel de caractérisé. |
Where the eye mixes caractérise and caractérisées
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 11 letters in sequence. caractérise runs 11 letters (CVCVCCVCVCV) against caractérisées's 13 (CVCVCCVCVCVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses caractérise with caractérisées
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: caractérise is \ka.ʁak.te.ʁiz\ while caractérisées is \ka.ʁak.te.ʁi.ze\. 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 (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 39538, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
caractérise is recorded at frequency rank #7,666, classified as averb, pronounced \ka.ʁak.te.ʁiz\. caractérisées is at rank #31,872, tagged as anadj, pronounced \ka.ʁak.te.ʁi.ze\.
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 39538, this pair ranks #247,217 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of caractérise vs caractérisées
Shared letters: aceirsté. Private to "caractérise": -. Private to "caractérisées": -.
"caractérise" · 11 letters · shape CVCVCCVCVCV · "caractérisées" · 13 letters · shape CVCVCCVCVCVVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "caractérise" and "caractérisées" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "caractérise" or "caractérisées"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "caractérise" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "caractérisées" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #247,217 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "caractérise" and "caractérisées" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "caractérisées vs caractérisés". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #247,217 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.