errentvserrerWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#45,590
“errent” frequency rank
#27,802
“errer” frequency rank
73392
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature errent errer
Definition Troisième personne du pluriel du présent de l’indicatif de errer. Vaguer de côté et d’autre ; aller çà et là.

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch
errent
5 ch
errer

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. errent (\ɛʁ\) and errer (\e.ʁe\) 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 73392, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

errent is recorded at frequency rank #45,590, classified as averb, pronounced \ɛʁ\. errer is at rank #27,802, tagged as averb, pronounced \e.ʁe\.

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 73392, this pair ranks #40,622 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of errent vs errer

Shared letters: er. Private to "errent": nt. Private to "errer": -.

"errent" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCC  ·  "errer" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • errenterent · erernt · errennt · errentt · erretn · errnet · rerent
  • errerererr · errerr · errre · rerer

Frequency comparison

errent#45,590
errer#27,802

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "errent" and "errer" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\ɛʁ\ versus \e.ʁe\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "errent" or "errer"?
"errer" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #27,802 in our French list, against #45,590 for "errent". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering errent vs errer

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 “errent” 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