Which to use
“fréquenter” is a verb and “fréquentes” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #12,386
- “fréquenter” frequency rank
- #9,842
- “fréquentes” frequency rank
- 22228
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fréquenter | fréquentes |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Aller fréquemment dans un lieu. | Féminin pluriel de fréquent. |
Where the eye mixes fréquenter and fréquentes
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. fréquenter and fréquentes follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CCVCVVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses fréquenter with fréquentes
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: fréquenter is \fʁe.kɑ̃.te\ while fréquentes is \fʁe.kɑ̃t\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - r in “fréquenter” becomes s in “fréquentes”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 22228, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
fréquenter is recorded at frequency rank #12,386, classified as averb, pronounced \fʁe.kɑ̃.te\. fréquentes is at rank #9,842, tagged as anadj, 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 22228, this pair ranks #359,163 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of fréquenter vs fréquentes
Shared letters: efnqrtué. Private to "fréquenter": -. Private to "fréquentes": s.
"fréquenter" · 10 letters · shape CCVCVVCCVC · "fréquentes" · 10 letters · shape CCVCVVCCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "fréquenter" and "fréquentes" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "fréquenter" vs "fréquentes" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "fréquenter" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "fréquentes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #359,163 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fréquenter" and "fréquentes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fréquentées vs fréquenter". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #359,163 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.