Which to use
“hésite” and “hésitent” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #3,855
- “hésite” frequency rank
- #13,812
- “hésitent” frequency rank
- 17667
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | hésite | hésitent |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Première personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de hésiter. | Troisième personne du pluriel du présent de l’indicatif de hésiter. |
Same sound, different letters: hésite vs hésitent
Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 6 letters. hésite runs 6 letters (CVCVCV) against hésitent's 8 (CVCVCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Homophone desk: hésite vs hésitent
This is the hard kind. hésite and hésitent are pronounced identically (^((h muet))\e.zit\) and both work as averb. Neither the ear nor the grammar will rescue you; only the meaning does, so the glosses below are the whole decision. They differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “hésite” sits inside “hésitent”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17667, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
hésite is recorded at frequency rank #3,855, classified as averb, pronounced ^((h muet))\e.zit\. hésitent is at rank #13,812, 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 17667, this pair ranks #382,073 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of hésite vs hésitent
Shared letters: ehisté. Private to "hésite": -. Private to "hésitent": n.
"hésite" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV · "hésitent" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "hésite" for "hésitent" ever safe?
Frequency check: "hésite" vs "hésitent" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
You've separated the homophone pair "hésite" / "hésitent". Follow the links when you need the full entry or a neighbour that trips the same ear.
- Full dictionary entry for "hésite" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "hésitent" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #382,073 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "hésite" and "hésitent" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "hésitante vs hésitent". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #382,073 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.