Which to use
“découvert” is an adjective and “découvrit” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,590
- “découvert” frequency rank
- #19,816
- “découvrit” frequency rank
- 21406
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | découvert | découvrit |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Qui n’est pas couvert. | Troisième personne du singulier du passé simple de découvrir. |
Where the eye mixes découvert and découvrit
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. découvert (CVCVVCVCC) and découvrit (CVCVVCCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: découvert vs découvrit
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: découvert is \de.ku.vɛʁ\ while découvrit is \de.ku.vʁi\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 21406, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
découvert is recorded at frequency rank #1,590, classified as anadj, pronounced \de.ku.vɛʁ\. découvrit is at rank #19,816, tagged as averb, pronounced \de.ku.vʁi\.
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 21406, this pair ranks #363,320 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of découvert vs découvrit
Shared letters: cdortuvé. Private to "découvert": e. Private to "découvrit": i.
"découvert" · 9 letters · shape CVCVVCVCC · "découvrit" · 9 letters · shape CVCVVCCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "découvert" and "découvrit" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "découvert" vs "découvrit" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "découvert" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "découvrit" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #363,320 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "découvert" and "découvrit" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "découvrais vs découvrit". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #363,320 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.