méritéesvsméritentWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#48,674
“méritées” frequency rank
#5,788
“méritent” frequency rank
54462
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature méritées méritent
Definition Participe passé féminin pluriel de mériter. Troisième personne du pluriel du présent de l’indicatif de mériter.

Where the spellings diverge

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

8 ch
méritées
8 ch
méritent

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. méritées (\me.ʁi.te\) and méritent (\me.ʁit\) 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 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 54462, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

méritées is recorded at frequency rank #48,674, classified as averb, pronounced \me.ʁi.te\. méritent is at rank #5,788, tagged as averb, pronounced \me.ʁit\.

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 54462, this pair ranks #133,902 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of méritées vs méritent

Shared letters: eimrté. Private to "méritées": s. Private to "méritent": n.

"méritées" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVVC  ·  "méritent" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVCC

Frequency comparison

méritées#48,674
méritent#5,788

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "méritées" and "méritent" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\me.ʁi.te\ versus \me.ʁit\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "méritées" or "méritent"?
"méritent" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,788 in our French list, against #48,674 for "méritées". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering méritées vs méritent

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 “méritées” 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