Which to use
“déplaçaient” and “déplacent” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #47,304
- “déplaçaient” frequency rank
- #14,251
- “déplacent” frequency rank
- 61555
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | déplaçaient | déplacent |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Troisième personne du pluriel de l’imparfait de l’indicatif de déplacer. | Troisième personne du pluriel du présent de l’indicatif de déplacer. |
Where the eye mixes déplaçaient and déplacent
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. déplaçaient runs 11 letters (CVCCVCVVVCC) against déplacent's 9 (CVCCVCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses déplaçaient with déplacent
A purely visual mix-up. déplaçaient (\de.pla.sɛ\) and déplacent (\de.plas\) 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 61555, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
déplaçaient is recorded at frequency rank #47,304, classified as averb, pronounced \de.pla.sɛ\. déplacent is at rank #14,251, tagged as averb, pronounced \de.plas\.
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 61555, this pair ranks #91,621 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of déplaçaient vs déplacent
Shared letters: adelnpté. Private to "déplaçaient": iç. Private to "déplacent": c.
"déplaçaient" · 11 letters · shape CVCCVCVVVCC · "déplacent" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCVCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "déplaçaient" and "déplacent" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "déplaçaient" or "déplacent"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "déplaçaient" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "déplacent" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #91,621 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "déplaçaient" and "déplacent" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "déclaraient vs déplaçaient". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #91,621 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.