durantvsduringWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#670
“durant” frequency rank
#33,227
“during” frequency rank
33897
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature durant during
Definition Tout au long de. Durant, pendant, lors de.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set durant and during apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
durant
6 ch
during

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. durant (\dy.ʁɑ̃\) and during (\ˈdʒʊə.ɹɪŋ\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 33897, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

durant is recorded at frequency rank #670, classified as aprep, pronounced \dy.ʁɑ̃\. during is at rank #33,227, tagged as aprep, pronounced \ˈdʒʊə.ɹɪŋ\.

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 33897, this pair ranks #287,535 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of durant vs during

Shared letters: dnru. Private to "durant": at. Private to "during": gi.

"durant" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC  ·  "during" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • durantddurant · druant · duarnt · durannt · durantt · duratn · durnat · durrant
  • duringdduring · druing · duirng · durign · duringg · durinng · durnig · durring

Frequency comparison

durant#670
during#33,227

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "durant" and "during" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\dy.ʁɑ̃\ versus \ˈdʒʊə.ɹɪŋ\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "durant" or "during"?
"durant" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #670 in our French list, against #33,227 for "during". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering durant vs during

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 “durant” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list