lâchaitvslâchentWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#32,887
“lâchait” frequency rank
#21,996
“lâchent” frequency rank
54883
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature lâchait lâchent
Definition Troisième personne du singulier de l’imparfait de l’indicatif de lâcher. Troisième personne du pluriel du présent de l’indicatif de lâcher.

Where the spellings diverge

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

7 ch
lâchait
7 ch
lâchent

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. lâchait (\la.ʃɛ\) and lâchent (\laʃ\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 54883, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

lâchait is recorded at frequency rank #32,887, classified as averb, pronounced \la.ʃɛ\. lâchent is at rank #21,996, tagged as averb, pronounced \laʃ\.

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 54883, this pair ranks #131,050 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of lâchait vs lâchent

Shared letters: chltâ. Private to "lâchait": ai. Private to "lâchent": en.

"lâchait" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVVC  ·  "lâchent" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC

Frequency comparison

lâchait#32,887
lâchent#21,996

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "lâchait" and "lâchent" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\la.ʃɛ\ versus \laʃ\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "lâchait" or "lâchent"?
"lâchent" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #21,996 in our French list, against #32,887 for "lâchait". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering lâchait vs lâchent

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 “lâchait” 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