Which to use
“hérite” and “hésita” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #21,652
- “hérite” frequency rank
- #45,662
- “hésita” frequency rank
- 67314
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | hérite | hésita |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Première personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de hériter. | Troisième personne du singulier du passé simple de hésiter. |
Where the eye mixes hérite and hésita
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. hérite and hésita follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: hérite vs hésita
A purely visual mix-up. hérite (\e.ʁit\) and hésita (^((h muet))\e.zi.ta\) 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 67314, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
hérite is recorded at frequency rank #21,652, classified as averb, pronounced \e.ʁit\. hésita is at rank #45,662, tagged as averb, pronounced ^((h muet))\e.zi.ta\.
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 67314, this pair ranks #63,941 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of hérite vs hésita
Shared letters: hité. Private to "hérite": er. Private to "hésita": as.
"hérite" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV · "hésita" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "hérite" for "hésita" ever safe?
Which is more common, "hérite" or "hésita"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "hérite" and "hésita" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "hérite" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "hésita" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #63,941 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "hérite" and "hésita" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "hasta vs hésita". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #63,941 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.