fréquentantvsfréquententWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#35,519
“fréquentant” frequency rank
#19,292
“fréquentent” frequency rank
54811
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature fréquentant fréquentent
Definition Participe présent de fréquenter. Troisième personne du pluriel du présent de l’indicatif de fréquenter.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set fréquentant and fréquentent apart are highlighted. They share 10 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

11 ch
fréquentant
11 ch
fréquentent

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. fréquentant (\fʁe.kɑ̃.tɑ̃\) 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 differ by a single letter - a in “fréquentant” becomes e in “fréquentent”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 54811, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

fréquentant is recorded at frequency rank #35,519, classified as averb, pronounced \fʁe.kɑ̃.tɑ̃\. 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 54811, this pair ranks #131,509 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of fréquentant vs fréquentent

Shared letters: efnqrtué. Private to "fréquentant": a. Private to "fréquentent": -.

"fréquentant" · 11 letters · shape CCVCVVCCVCC  ·  "fréquentent" · 11 letters · shape CCVCVVCCVCC

Frequency comparison

fréquentant#35,519
fréquentent#19,292

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "fréquentant" and "fréquentent" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\fʁe.kɑ̃.tɑ̃\ versus \fʁe.kɑ̃t\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "fréquentant" or "fréquentent"?
"fréquentent" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #19,292 in our French list, against #35,519 for "fréquentant". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering fréquentant vs fréquentent

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 “fréquentant” 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