Which to use
“commençais” and “commençait” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #17,907
- “commençais” frequency rank
- #8,520
- “commençait” frequency rank
- 26427
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | commençais | commençait |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Première personne du singulier de l’indicatif imparfait de commencer. | Troisième personne du singulier de l’indicatif imparfait de commencer. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set commençais and commençait apart are highlighted. They share 9 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
This is the hard kind. commençais and commençait are pronounced identically (\kɔ.mɑ̃.sɛ\) 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 differ by a single letter - s in “commençais” becomes t in “commençait”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 26427, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
commençais is recorded at frequency rank #17,907, classified as averb, pronounced \kɔ.mɑ̃.sɛ\. commençait is at rank #8,520, tagged as averb, pronounced \kɔ.mɑ̃.sɛ\.
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 26427, this pair ranks #335,070 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of commençais vs commençait
Shared letters: aceimnoç. Private to "commençais": s. Private to "commençait": t.
"commençais" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCCVVC · "commençait" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCCVVC
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "commençais" and "commençait" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "commençais" or "commençait"?
Remembering commençais vs commençait
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 “commençais” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable