dépensantvsdépensentWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#48,470
“dépensant” frequency rank
#23,847
“dépensent” frequency rank
72317
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature dépensant dépensent
Definition Participe présent de dépenser. Troisième personne du pluriel du présent de l’indicatif de dépenser.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set dépensant and dépensent apart are highlighted. They share 8 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

9 ch
dépensant
9 ch
dépensent

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. dépensant (\de.pɑ̃.sɑ̃\) and dépensent (\de.pɑ̃s\) 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 a single letter - a in “dépensant” becomes e in “dépensent”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 72317, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

dépensant is recorded at frequency rank #48,470, classified as averb, pronounced \de.pɑ̃.sɑ̃\. dépensent is at rank #23,847, tagged as averb, pronounced \de.pɑ̃s\.

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 72317, this pair ranks #44,409 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of dépensant vs dépensent

Shared letters: denpsté. Private to "dépensant": a. Private to "dépensent": -.

"dépensant" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCVCC  ·  "dépensent" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCVCC

Frequency comparison

dépensant#48,470
dépensent#23,847

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "dépensant" and "dépensent" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\de.pɑ̃.sɑ̃\ versus \de.pɑ̃s\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "dépensant" or "dépensent"?
"dépensent" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #23,847 in our French list, against #48,470 for "dépensant". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering dépensant vs dépensent

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 “dépensant” 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