dispensésvsdisperseWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#23,173
“dispensés” frequency rank
#33,641
“disperse” frequency rank
56814
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature dispensés disperse
Definition Participe passé masculin pluriel de dispenser. Première personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de disperser.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set dispensés and disperse apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

9 ch
dispensés
8 ch
disperse

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. dispensés (\dis.pɑ̃.se\) and disperse (\dis.pɛʁs\) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 56814, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

dispensés is recorded at frequency rank #23,173, classified as averb, pronounced \dis.pɑ̃.se\. disperse is at rank #33,641, tagged as averb, pronounced \dis.pɛʁs\.

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 56814, this pair ranks #118,742 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of dispensés vs disperse

Shared letters: deips. Private to "dispensés": . Private to "disperse": r.

"dispensés" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC  ·  "disperse" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • disperseddisperse · dipserse · diseprse · disperes · disperrse · dispersse · dispesre · dispperse

Frequency comparison

dispensés#23,173
disperse#33,641

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "dispensés" and "disperse" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\dis.pɑ̃.se\ versus \dis.pɛʁs\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "dispensés" or "disperse"?
"dispensés" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #23,173 in our French list, against #33,641 for "disperse". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering dispensés vs disperse

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 “dispensés” 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