Which to use
“commençais” and “commençons” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #17,907
- “commençais” frequency rank
- #13,546
- “commençons” frequency rank
- 31453
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | commençais | commençons |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Première personne du singulier de l’indicatif imparfait de commencer. | Première personne du pluriel de l’indicatif présent de commencer. |
Where the eye mixes commençais and commençons
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. commençais (CVCCVCCVVC) and commençons (CVCCVCCVCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: commençais vs commençons
A purely visual mix-up. commençais (\kɔ.mɑ̃.sɛ\) and commençons (\kɔ.mɑ̃.sɔ̃\) 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 31453, 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\. commençons is at rank #13,546, tagged as averb, pronounced \kɔ.mɑ̃.sɔ̃\.
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 31453, this pair ranks #303,677 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of commençais vs commençons
Shared letters: cemnosç. Private to "commençais": ai. Private to "commençons": -.
"commençais" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCCVVC · "commençons" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCCVCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "commençais" and "commençons" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "commençais" vs "commençons" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "commençais" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "commençons" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #303,677 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "commençais" and "commençons" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "commençais vs commencées". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #303,677 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.