Which to use
“dépensée” and “dépenser” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #43,400
- “dépensée” frequency rank
- #6,609
- “dépenser” frequency rank
- 50009
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | dépensée | dépenser |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Participe passé féminin singulier de dépenser. | Employer telle ou telle somme à l’achat de telle ou telle chose. |
Same sound, different letters: dépensée vs dépenser
Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 7 letters. dépensée (CVCVCCVV) and dépenser (CVCVCCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Ear matches; page differs - dépensée and dépenser
This is the hard kind. dépensée and dépenser are pronounced identically (\de.pɑ̃.se\) and both work as averb. Neither the ear nor the grammar will rescue you; only the meaning does, so the glosses below are the whole decision. They share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 50009, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
dépensée is recorded at frequency rank #43,400, classified as averb, pronounced \de.pɑ̃.se\. dépenser is at rank #6,609, tagged as averb, pronounced \de.pɑ̃.se\.
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 50009, this pair ranks #166,010 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of dépensée vs dépenser
Shared letters: denpsé. Private to "dépensée": -. Private to "dépenser": r.
"dépensée" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVV · "dépenser" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "dépensée" and "dépenser" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "dépensée" or "dépenser"?
After this comparison
Sound matches; spelling doesn't. Use the exits below to lock the right form or check a cousin pair.
- Full dictionary entry for "dépensée" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "dépenser" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #166,010 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "dépensée" and "dépenser" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "dépensée vs dispensée". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #166,010 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.