improvisevsimproviséesWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: improvise is a verb, improvisées is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“improvise” is a verb and “improvisées” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#25,360
“improvise” frequency rank
#45,664
“improvisées” frequency rank
71024
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature improvise improvisées
Definition Première personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de improviser. Féminin pluriel de improvisé.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set improvise and improvisées apart are highlighted. They share 9 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

9 ch
improvise
11 ch
improvisées

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: improvise is \ɛ̃.pʁɔ.viz\ while improvisées is \ɛ̃.pʁɔ.vi.ze\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 71024, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

improvise is recorded at frequency rank #25,360, classified as averb, pronounced \ɛ̃.pʁɔ.viz\. improvisées is at rank #45,664, tagged as anadj, pronounced \ɛ̃.pʁɔ.vi.ze\.

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 71024, this pair ranks #49,088 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of improvise vs improvisées

Shared letters: eimoprsv. Private to "improvise": -. Private to "improvisées": é.

"improvise" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVCVCV  ·  "improvisées" · 11 letters · shape VCCCVCVCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • improviseimmprovise · imporvise · impprovise · improivse · improvies · improvisse · improvsie · improvvise

Frequency comparison

improvise#25,360
improvisées#45,664

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "improvise" and "improvisées" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "improvise" is a verb and "improvisées" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "improvise" or "improvisées"?
"improvise" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #25,360 in our French list, against #45,664 for "improvisées". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering improvise vs improvisées

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “improvise”; for an adjective, it's “improvisées”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “improvise” 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