embrassaitvsembrassentWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#38,267
“embrassait” frequency rank
#22,840
“embrassent” frequency rank
61107
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature embrassait embrassent
Definition Troisième personne du singulier de l’imparfait de l’indicatif de embrasser. Troisième personne du pluriel du présent de l’indicatif de embrasser.

Where the eye mixes embrassait and embrassent

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. embrassait (VCCCVCCVVC) and embrassent (VCCCVCCVCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

10 ch
embrassait
10 ch
embrassent

Look-alike desk: embrassait vs embrassent

A purely visual mix-up. embrassait (\ɑ̃.bʁa.sɛ\) and embrassent (\ɑ̃.bʁas\) 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 61107, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

embrassait is recorded at frequency rank #38,267, classified as averb, pronounced \ɑ̃.bʁa.sɛ\. embrassent is at rank #22,840, tagged as averb, pronounced \ɑ̃.bʁas\.

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 61107, this pair ranks #94,031 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of embrassait vs embrassent

Shared letters: abemrst. Private to "embrassait": i. Private to "embrassent": n.

"embrassait" · 10 letters · shape VCCCVCCVVC  ·  "embrassent" · 10 letters · shape VCCCVCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • embrassait ← ebmrassait · embarssait · embbrassait · embrasait · embrasasit · embrassaitt · embrassati · embrassiat
  • embrassent ← ebmrassent · embarssent · embbrassent · embrasent · embrasesnt · embrassennt · embrassentt · embrassetn

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "embrassait" and "embrassent" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\ɑ̃.bʁa.sɛ\ versus \ɑ̃.bʁas\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "embrassait" vs "embrassent" - which ranks higher?
"embrassent" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #22,840 in our French list, against #38,267 for "embrassait". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "embrassait" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "embrassent" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #94,031 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "embrassait" and "embrassent" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "embrassa vs embrassait". Nearby pair
  • Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes

Confusion rank #94,031 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list