Which to use
“nourrissait” and “nourrissent” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #38,449
- “nourrissait” frequency rank
- #14,102
- “nourrissent” frequency rank
- 52551
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | nourrissait | nourrissent |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Troisième personne du singulier de l’indicatif imparfait de nourrir. | Troisième personne du pluriel de l’indicatif présent de nourrir. |
Where the eye mixes nourrissait and nourrissent
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. nourrissait (CVVCCVCCVVC) and nourrissent (CVVCCVCCVCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: nourrissait vs nourrissent
A purely visual mix-up. nourrissait (\nu.ʁi.sɛ\) and nourrissent (\nu.ʁis\) 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 52551, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
nourrissait is recorded at frequency rank #38,449, classified as averb, pronounced \nu.ʁi.sɛ\. nourrissent is at rank #14,102, tagged as averb, pronounced \nu.ʁis\.
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 52551, this pair ranks #146,958 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of nourrissait vs nourrissent
Shared letters: inorstu. Private to "nourrissait": a. Private to "nourrissent": e.
"nourrissait" · 11 letters · shape CVVCCVCCVVC · "nourrissent" · 11 letters · shape CVVCCVCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- nourrissait ← nnourrissait · norurissait · nourirssait · nourissait · nourrisait · nourrisasit · nourrissaitt · nourrissati
- nourrissent ← nnourrissent · norurissent · nourirssent · nourissent · nourrisent · nourrisesnt · nourrissennt · nourrissentt
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "nourrissait" and "nourrissent" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "nourrissait" vs "nourrissent" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "nourrissait" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "nourrissent" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #146,958 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "nourrissait" and "nourrissent" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "nourrissait vs nourrissant". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #146,958 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.