découvresvsdécouvritWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#30,988
“découvres” frequency rank
#19,816
“découvrit” frequency rank
50804
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature découvres découvrit
Definition Deuxième personne du singulier de l’indicatif présent de découvrir. Troisième personne du singulier du passé simple de découvrir.

Where the spellings diverge

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

9 ch
découvres
9 ch
découvrit

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. découvres (\de.kuvʁ\) and découvrit (\de.ku.vʁi\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 50804, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

découvres is recorded at frequency rank #30,988, classified as averb, pronounced \de.kuvʁ\. 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 50804, this pair ranks #159,845 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of découvres vs découvrit

Shared letters: cdoruvé. Private to "découvres": es. Private to "découvrit": it.

"découvres" · 9 letters · shape CVCVVCCVC  ·  "découvrit" · 9 letters · shape CVCVVCCVC

Frequency comparison

découvres#30,988
découvrit#19,816

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "découvres" and "découvrit" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\de.kuvʁ\ versus \de.ku.vʁi\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "découvres" or "découvrit"?
"découvrit" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #19,816 in our French list, against #30,988 for "découvres". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering découvres vs découvrit

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 “découvres” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list