consistevsconsisterWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“consiste” and “consister” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#2,417
“consiste” frequency rank
#41,190
“consister” frequency rank
43607
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature consiste consister
Definition Première personne du singulier de l’indicatif présent de consister. Être constitué par certains éléments ; comporter ; comprendre.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set consiste and consister apart are highlighted. They share 8 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
consiste
9 ch
consister

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. consiste (\kɔ̃.sist\) and consister (\kɔ̃.sis.te\) 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 1 extra letter(s) - “consiste” sits inside “consister”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 43607, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

consiste is recorded at frequency rank #2,417, classified as averb, pronounced \kɔ̃.sist\. consister is at rank #41,190, tagged as averb, pronounced \kɔ̃.sis.te\.

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 43607, this pair ranks #216,773 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of consiste vs consister

Shared letters: ceinost. Private to "consiste": -. Private to "consister": r.

"consiste" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCV  ·  "consister" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • consistecconsiste · cnosiste · conisste · connsiste · consiset · consisste · consistte · consitse
  • consistercconsister · cnosister · conisster · connsister · consisetr · consisster · consisterr · consistre

Frequency comparison

consiste#2,417
consister#41,190

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "consiste" and "consister" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\kɔ̃.sist\ versus \kɔ̃.sis.te\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "consiste" or "consister"?
"consiste" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,417 in our French list, against #41,190 for "consister". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering consiste vs consister

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 “consiste” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list