Which to use
“fréquentait” and “fréquentent” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #29,363
- “fréquentait” frequency rank
- #19,292
- “fréquentent” frequency rank
- 48655
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fréquentait | fréquentent |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Troisième personne du singulier de l’imparfait de l’indicatif de fréquenter. | Troisième personne du pluriel du présent de l’indicatif de fréquenter. |
Where the eye mixes fréquentait and fréquentent
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. fréquentait (CCVCVVCCVVC) and fréquentent (CCVCVVCCVCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between fréquentait and fréquentent
A purely visual mix-up. fréquentait (\fʁe.kɑ̃.tɛ\) and fréquentent (\fʁe.kɑ̃t\) 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 48655, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
fréquentait is recorded at frequency rank #29,363, classified as averb, pronounced \fʁe.kɑ̃.tɛ\. fréquentent is at rank #19,292, tagged as averb, pronounced \fʁe.kɑ̃t\.
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 48655, this pair ranks #177,090 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of fréquentait vs fréquentent
Shared letters: efnqrtué. Private to "fréquentait": ai. Private to "fréquentent": -.
"fréquentait" · 11 letters · shape CCVCVVCCVVC · "fréquentent" · 11 letters · shape CCVCVVCCVCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "fréquentait" and "fréquentent" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "fréquentait" or "fréquentent"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "fréquentait" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "fréquentent" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #177,090 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fréquentait" and "fréquentent" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fréquentaient vs fréquentait". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #177,090 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.