demandentvsdemandèrentWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#3,193
“demandent” frequency rank
#40,712
“demandèrent” frequency rank
43905
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature demandent demandèrent
Definition Troisième personne du pluriel du présent 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 demandent and demandèrent apart are highlighted. They share 9 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

9 ch
demandent
11 ch
demandèrent

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. demandent (\də.mɑ̃d\) 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 differ by 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 43905, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

demandent is recorded at frequency rank #3,193, classified as averb, pronounced \də.mɑ̃d\. 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 43905, this pair ranks #214,469 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of demandent vs demandèrent

Shared letters: ademnt. Private to "demandent": -. Private to "demandèrent": .

"demandent" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCVCC  ·  "demandèrent" · 11 letters · shape CVCVCCVCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • demandentddemandent · deamndent · demadnent · demanddent · demandennt · demandentt · demandetn · demandnet

Frequency comparison

demandent#3,193
demandèrent#40,712

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "demandent" and "demandèrent" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\də.mɑ̃d\ versus \də.mɑ̃.dɛʁ\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "demandent" or "demandèrent"?
"demandent" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,193 in our French list, against #40,712 for "demandèrent". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering demandent 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 “demandent” 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