Which to use
“empêchait” and “empêchant” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #18,473
- “empêchait” frequency rank
- #13,371
- “empêchant” frequency rank
- 31844
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | empêchait | empêchant |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Troisième personne du singulier de l’imparfait de l’indicatif de empêcher. | Participe présent de empêcher. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set empêchait and empêchant apart are highlighted. They share 8 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
A purely visual mix-up. empêchait (\ɑ̃.pɛ.ʃɛ\) and empêchant (\ɑ̃.pɛ.ʃɑ̃\) 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 a single letter - i in “empêchait” becomes n in “empêchant”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 31844, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
empêchait is recorded at frequency rank #18,473, classified as averb, pronounced \ɑ̃.pɛ.ʃɛ\. empêchant is at rank #13,371, tagged as averb, pronounced \ɑ̃.pɛ.ʃɑ̃\.
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 31844, this pair ranks #301,199 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of empêchait vs empêchant
Shared letters: acehmptê. Private to "empêchait": i. Private to "empêchant": n.
"empêchait" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCCVVC · "empêchant" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCCVCC
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "empêchait" and "empêchant" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "empêchait" or "empêchant"?
Remembering empêchait vs empêchant
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 “empêchait” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable