Which to use
“hérédité” is a noun and “hérite” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #33,729
- “hérédité” frequency rank
- #21,652
- “hérite” frequency rank
- 55381
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | hérédité | hérite |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Droit de recueillir la totalité ou une partie des biens qu’une personne laisse à son décès. | Première personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de hériter. |
Where the eye mixes hérédité and hérite
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. hérédité runs 8 letters (CVCVCVCV) against hérite's 6 (CVCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: hérédité vs hérite
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: hérédité is \e.ʁe.di.te\ while hérite is \e.ʁit\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 55381, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
hérédité is recorded at frequency rank #33,729, classified as anoun, pronounced \e.ʁe.di.te\. hérite is at rank #21,652, tagged as averb, pronounced \e.ʁit\.
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 55381, this pair ranks #127,816 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of hérédité vs hérite
Shared letters: hirté. Private to "hérédité": d. Private to "hérite": e.
"hérédité" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVCV · "hérite" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "hérédité" and "hérite" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "hérédité" vs "hérite" - 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 "hérédité" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "hérite" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #127,816 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "hérédité" and "hérite" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "hérédité vs hermite". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #127,816 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.