déclara vs déclarait, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#15,360
“déclara” frequency rank: #14,022
“déclarait” frequency rank: 29382
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	déclara	déclarait
Definition	Troisième personne du singulier du passé simple de déclarer.	Troisième personne du singulier de l’indicatif imparfait de déclarer.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set déclara and déclarait apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch

déclara

9 ch

déclarait

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. déclara (\de.kla.ʁa\) and déclarait (\de.kla.ʁɛ\) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “déclara” sits inside “déclarait”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 29382, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

déclara is recorded at frequency rank #15,360, classified as averb, pronounced \de.kla.ʁa\. déclarait is at rank #14,022, tagged as averb, pronounced \de.kla.ʁɛ\.

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 29382, this pair ranks #317,036 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of déclara vs déclarait

Shared letters: acdlré. Private to "déclara": -. Private to "déclarait": it.

"déclara" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV · "déclarait" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCVVC

Frequency comparison

déclara#15,360

déclarait#14,022

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "déclara" and "déclarait" be used interchangeably?

No. They are said differently (\de.kla.ʁa\ versus \de.kla.ʁɛ\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.

Which is more common, "déclara" or "déclarait"?

"déclarait" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #14,022 in our French list, against #15,360 for "déclara". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering déclara vs déclarait

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 “déclara” entry
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