faisaientvsfaisantWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#3,137
“faisaient” frequency rank
#821
“faisant” frequency rank
3958
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature faisaient faisant
Definition Troisième personne du pluriel de l’imparfait de l’indicatif de faire. Participe présent du verbe faire.

Where the spellings diverge

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

9 ch
faisaient
7 ch
faisant

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. faisaient (\fə.zɛ\) and faisant (\fə.zɑ̃\) 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 3958, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

faisaient is recorded at frequency rank #3,137, classified as averb, pronounced \fə.zɛ\. faisant is at rank #821, tagged as averb, pronounced \fə.zɑ̃\.

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 3958, this pair ranks #432,803 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of faisaient vs faisant

Shared letters: afinst. Private to "faisaient": e. Private to "faisant": -.

"faisaient" · 9 letters · shape CVVCVVVCC  ·  "faisant" · 7 letters · shape CVVCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • faisaientafisaient · faiasient · faisaeint · faisaiennt · faisaientt · faisaietn · faisainet · faisiaent
  • faisantafisant · faiasnt · faisannt · faisantt · faisatn · faisnat · faissant · fasiant

Frequency comparison

faisaient#3,137
faisant#821

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "faisaient" and "faisant" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\fə.zɛ\ versus \fə.zɑ̃\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "faisaient" or "faisant"?
"faisant" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #821 in our French list, against #3,137 for "faisaient". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering faisaient vs faisant

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 “faisaient” 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