Which to use
“gagnait” and “gênait” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #16,889
- “gagnait” frequency rank
- #31,531
- “gênait” frequency rank
- 48420
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | gagnait | gênait |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Troisième personne du singulier de l’imparfait de l’indicatif de gagner. | Troisième personne du singulier de l’imparfait de l’indicatif de gêner. |
Where the eye mixes gagnait and gênait
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses gagnait with gênait
A purely visual mix-up. gagnait (\ɡa.ɲɛ\) and gênait (\ʒe.nɛ\) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 48420, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
gagnait is recorded at frequency rank #16,889, classified as averb, pronounced \ɡa.ɲɛ\. gênait is at rank #31,531, tagged as averb, pronounced \ʒe.nɛ\.
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 48420, this pair ranks #179,092 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of gagnait vs gênait
Shared letters: agint. Private to "gagnait": -. Private to "gênait": ê.
"gagnait" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVVC · "gênait" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- gagnait ← aggnait · gaganit · gaggnait · gagnaitt · gagnati · gagniat · gagnnait · gangait
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "gagnait" for "gênait" ever safe?
Frequency check: "gagnait" vs "gênait" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "gagnait" and "gênait" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "gagnait" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "gênait" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #179,092 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "gagnait" and "gênait" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "gênait vs gisait". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #179,092 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.