éprouvaitvséprouventWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#40,566
“éprouvait” frequency rank
#24,454
“éprouvent” frequency rank
65020
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature éprouvait éprouvent
Definition Troisième personne du singulier de l’imparfait de l’indicatif de éprouver. Troisième personne du pluriel du présent de l’indicatif de éprouver.

Where the spellings diverge

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

9 ch
éprouvait
9 ch
éprouvent

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. éprouvait (\e.pʁu.vɛ\) and éprouvent (\e.pʁuv\) 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 65020, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

éprouvait is recorded at frequency rank #40,566, classified as averb, pronounced \e.pʁu.vɛ\. éprouvent is at rank #24,454, tagged as averb, pronounced \e.pʁuv\.

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 65020, this pair ranks #74,257 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of éprouvait vs éprouvent

Shared letters: oprtuvé. Private to "éprouvait": ai. Private to "éprouvent": en.

"éprouvait" · 9 letters · shape VCCVVCVVC  ·  "éprouvent" · 9 letters · shape VCCVVCVCC

Frequency comparison

éprouvait#40,566
éprouvent#24,454

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "éprouvait" and "éprouvent" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\e.pʁu.vɛ\ versus \e.pʁuv\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "éprouvait" or "éprouvent"?
"éprouvent" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #24,454 in our French list, against #40,566 for "éprouvait". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering éprouvait vs éprouvent

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 “éprouvait” 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