Which to use
“hésita” and “hésiter” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #45,662
- “hésita” frequency rank
- #8,722
- “hésiter” frequency rank
- 54384
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | hésita | hésiter |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Troisième personne du singulier du passé simple de hésiter. | Être incertain, indécis sur le parti, sur la résolution que l’on doit prendre. |
Where the eye mixes hésita and hésiter
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. hésita runs 6 letters (CVCVCV) against hésiter's 7 (CVCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses hésita with hésiter
A purely visual mix-up. hésita (^((h muet))\e.zi.ta\) and hésiter (^((h muet))\e.zi.te\) 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 54384, 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\. hésiter is at rank #8,722, tagged as averb, pronounced ^((h muet))\e.zi.te\.
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 54384, this pair ranks #134,405 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of hésita vs hésiter
Shared letters: histé. Private to "hésita": a. Private to "hésiter": er.
"hésita" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV · "hésiter" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "hésita" and "hésiter" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "hésita" or "hésiter"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "hésita" and "hésiter" 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 "hésiter" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #134,405 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "hésita" and "hésiter" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "hasta vs hésita". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #134,405 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.