existaitvsexisteraitWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#4,487
“existait” frequency rank
#22,562
“existerait” frequency rank
27049
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature existait existerait
Definition Troisième personne du singulier de l’imparfait de l’indicatif de exister. Troisième personne du singulier du conditionnel présent de exister.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set existait and existerait apart are highlighted. They share 8 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
existait
10 ch
existerait

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. existait (\ɛɡ.zis.tɛ\) and existerait (\ɛɡ.zis.tə.ʁɛ\) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 27049, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

existait is recorded at frequency rank #4,487, classified as averb, pronounced \ɛɡ.zis.tɛ\. existerait is at rank #22,562, tagged as averb, pronounced \ɛɡ.zis.tə.ʁɛ\.

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 27049, this pair ranks #331,365 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of existait vs existerait

Shared letters: aeistx. Private to "existait": -. Private to "existerait": r.

"existait" · 8 letters · shape VCVCCVVC  ·  "existerait" · 10 letters · shape VCVCCVCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • existaiteixstait · exisatit · exisstait · existaitt · existati · existiat · existtait · exitsait
  • existeraiteixsterait · exisetrait · exissterait · existearit · existeraitt · existerati · existeriat · existerrait

Frequency comparison

existait#4,487
existerait#22,562

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "existait" and "existerait" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\ɛɡ.zis.tɛ\ versus \ɛɡ.zis.tə.ʁɛ\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "existait" or "existerait"?
"existait" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,487 in our French list, against #22,562 for "existerait". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering existait vs existerait

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 “existait” 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