Which to use
“compétents” is an adjective and “comptent” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #12,340
- “compétents” frequency rank
- #5,739
- “comptent” frequency rank
- 18079
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | compétents | comptent |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Masculin pluriel de compétent. | Troisième personne du pluriel de l’indicatif présent de compter. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set compétents and comptent apart are highlighted. They share 8 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: compétents is \kɔ̃.pe.tɑ̃\ while comptent is \kɔ̃t\. 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 (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 18079, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
compétents is recorded at frequency rank #12,340, classified as anadj, pronounced \kɔ̃.pe.tɑ̃\. comptent is at rank #5,739, tagged as averb, pronounced \kɔ̃t\.
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 18079, this pair ranks #380,106 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of compétents vs comptent
Shared letters: cemnopt. Private to "compétents": sé. Private to "comptent": -.
"compétents" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCVCCC · "comptent" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- comptent ← ccomptent · cmoptent · commptent · competnt · compptent · comptennt · comptentt · comptetn
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "compétents" and "comptent" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "compétents" or "comptent"?
Remembering compétents vs comptent
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “compétents”; for a verb, it's “comptent”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “compétents” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable