dessinavsdessinantWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#49,595
“dessina” frequency rank
#34,057
“dessinant” frequency rank
83652
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature dessina dessinant
Definition Troisième personne du singulier du passé simple de dessiner. Participe présent de dessiner.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set dessina and dessinant apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
dessina
9 ch
dessinant

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. dessina (\de.si.na\) and dessinant (\de.si.nɑ̃\) 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 extra letter(s) - “dessina” sits inside “dessinant”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 83652, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

dessina is recorded at frequency rank #49,595, classified as averb, pronounced \de.si.na\. dessinant is at rank #34,057, tagged as averb, pronounced \de.si.nɑ̃\.

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 83652, this pair ranks #14,439 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of dessina vs dessinant

Shared letters: adeins. Private to "dessina": -. Private to "dessinant": t.

"dessina" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV  ·  "dessinant" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • dessinaddessina · desina · desisna · dessian · dessinna · dessnia · dsesina · edssina
  • dessinantddessinant · desinant · desisnant · dessiannt · dessinannt · dessinantt · dessinatn · dessinnant

Frequency comparison

dessina#49,595
dessinant#34,057

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "dessina" and "dessinant" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\de.si.na\ versus \de.si.nɑ̃\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "dessina" or "dessinant"?
"dessinant" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #34,057 in our French list, against #49,595 for "dessina". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering dessina vs dessinant

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 “dessina” 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