laisséevslaissentWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#8,261
“laissée” frequency rank
#3,934
“laissent” frequency rank
12195
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature laissée laissent
Definition Participe passé féminin singulier de laisser. Troisième personne du pluriel du présent de l’indicatif de laisser.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set laissée and laissent apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
laissée
8 ch
laissent

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. laissée (\lɛ.se\) and laissent (\lɛs\) 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 12195, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

laissée is recorded at frequency rank #8,261, classified as averb, pronounced \lɛ.se\. laissent is at rank #3,934, tagged as averb, pronounced \lɛs\.

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 12195, this pair ranks #406,217 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of laissée vs laissent

Shared letters: aeils. Private to "laissée": é. Private to "laissent": nt.

"laissée" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCVV  ·  "laissent" · 8 letters · shape CVVCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • laissentalissent · laisent · laisesnt · laissennt · laissentt · laissetn · laissnet · lasisent

Frequency comparison

laissée#8,261
laissent#3,934

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "laissée" and "laissent" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\lɛ.se\ versus \lɛs\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "laissée" or "laissent"?
"laissent" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,934 in our French list, against #8,261 for "laissée". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering laissée vs laissent

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 “laissée” 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