Which to use
“commences” and “commencez” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #9,800
- “commences” frequency rank
- #8,360
- “commencez” frequency rank
- 18160
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | commences | commencez |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Deuxième personne du singulier de l’indicatif présent de commencer. | Deuxième personne du pluriel de l’indicatif présent de commencer. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set commences and commencez apart are highlighted. They share 8 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
A purely visual mix-up. commences (\kɔ.mɑ̃s\) and commencez (\kɔ.mɑ̃.se\) 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 - s in “commences” becomes z in “commencez”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 18160, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
commences is recorded at frequency rank #9,800, classified as averb, pronounced \kɔ.mɑ̃s\. commencez is at rank #8,360, tagged as averb, pronounced \kɔ.mɑ̃.se\.
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 18160, this pair ranks #379,703 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of commences vs commencez
Shared letters: cemno. Private to "commences": s. Private to "commencez": z.
"commences" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC · "commencez" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "commences" and "commencez" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "commences" or "commencez"?
Remembering commences vs commencez
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 “commences” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable