demandaientvsdemandèrentWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#15,607
“demandaient” frequency rank
#40,712
“demandèrent” frequency rank
56319
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature demandaient demandèrent
Definition Troisième personne du pluriel de l’imparfait de l’indicatif de demander. Troisième personne du pluriel du passé simple de demander.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set demandaient and demandèrent apart are highlighted. They share 9 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

11 ch
demandaient
11 ch
demandèrent

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. demandaient (\də.mɑ̃.dɛ\) and demandèrent (\də.mɑ̃.dɛʁ\) 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 56319, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

demandaient is recorded at frequency rank #15,607, classified as averb, pronounced \də.mɑ̃.dɛ\. demandèrent is at rank #40,712, tagged as averb, pronounced \də.mɑ̃.dɛʁ\.

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 56319, this pair ranks #121,819 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of demandaient vs demandèrent

Shared letters: ademnt. Private to "demandaient": i. Private to "demandèrent": .

"demandaient" · 11 letters · shape CVCVCCVVVCC  ·  "demandèrent" · 11 letters · shape CVCVCCVCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • demandaientddemandaient · deamndaient · demadnaient · demanadient · demandaeint · demandaiennt · demandaientt · demandaietn

Frequency comparison

demandaient#15,607
demandèrent#40,712

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "demandaient" and "demandèrent" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\də.mɑ̃.dɛ\ versus \də.mɑ̃.dɛʁ\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "demandaient" or "demandèrent"?
"demandaient" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #15,607 in our French list, against #40,712 for "demandèrent". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering demandaient vs demandèrent

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 “demandaient” 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