Which to use
“hésita” and “hésite” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #45,662
- “hésita” frequency rank
- #3,855
- “hésite” frequency rank
- 49517
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | hésita | hésite |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Troisième personne du singulier du passé simple de hésiter. | Première personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de hésiter. |
Where the eye mixes hésita and hésite
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. hésita and hésite follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses hésita with hésite
A purely visual mix-up. hésita (^((h muet))\e.zi.ta\) and hésite (^((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 a single letter - a in “hésita” becomes e in “hésite”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49517, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
hésita is recorded at frequency rank #45,662, classified as averb, pronounced ^((h muet))\e.zi.ta\. hésite is at rank #3,855, 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 49517, this pair ranks #169,979 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of hésita vs hésite
Shared letters: histé. Private to "hésita": a. Private to "hésite": e.
"hésita" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV · "hésite" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "hésita" and "hésite" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "hésita" vs "hésite" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "hésita" and "hésite" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "hésita" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "hésite" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #169,979 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "hésita" and "hésite" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "hasta vs hésita". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #169,979 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.