laissent vs laissèrent, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#3,934
“laissent” frequency rank: #46,853
“laissèrent” frequency rank: 50787
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	laissent	laissèrent
Definition	Troisième personne du pluriel du présent de l’indicatif de laisser.	Troisième personne du pluriel du passé simple de laisser.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set laissent and laissèrent apart are highlighted. They share 8 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch

laissent

10 ch

laissèrent

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. laissent (\lɛs\) and laissèrent (\lɛ.sɛʁ\) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 50787, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

laissent is recorded at frequency rank #3,934, classified as averb, pronounced \lɛs\. laissèrent is at rank #46,853, tagged as averb, pronounced \lɛ.sɛʁ\.

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 50787, this pair ranks #159,993 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of laissent vs laissèrent

Shared letters: aeilnst. Private to "laissent": -. Private to "laissèrent": rè.

"laissent" · 8 letters · shape CVVCCVCC · "laissèrent" · 10 letters · shape CVVCCVCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

laissent ← alissent · laisent · laisesnt · laissennt · laissentt · laissetn · laissnet · lasisent

Frequency comparison

laissent#3,934

laissèrent#46,853

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "laissent" and "laissèrent" be used interchangeably?

No. They are said differently (\lɛs\ versus \lɛ.sɛʁ\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.

Which is more common, "laissent" or "laissèrent"?

"laissent" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,934 in our French list, against #46,853 for "laissèrent". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering laissent vs laissèrent

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 “laissent” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable