héritevshésitesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#21,652
“hérite” frequency rank
#28,992
“hésites” frequency rank
50644
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature hérite hésites
Definition Première personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de hériter. Deuxième personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de hésiter.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set hérite and hésites apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
hérite
7 ch
hésites

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. hérite (\e.ʁit\) and hésites (^((h muet))\e.zit\) 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 50644, 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\. hésites is at rank #28,992, tagged as averb, pronounced ^((h muet))\e.zit\.

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 50644, this pair ranks #161,044 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of hérite vs hésites

Shared letters: ehité. Private to "hérite": r. Private to "hésites": s.

"hérite" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV  ·  "hésites" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC

Frequency comparison

hérite#21,652
hésites#28,992

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "hérite" and "hésites" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\e.ʁit\ versus ^((h muet))\e.zit\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "hérite" or "hésites"?
"hérite" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #21,652 in our French list, against #28,992 for "hésites". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering hérite vs hésites

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 “hérite” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list