ouvertvsouvrentWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: ouvert is a adjective, ouvrent is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“ouvert” is an adjective and “ouvrent” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#1,094
“ouvert” frequency rank
#6,724
“ouvrent” frequency rank
7818
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ouvert ouvrent
Definition Qui n’est pas fermé. Troisième personne du pluriel de l’indicatif présent de ouvrir.

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch
ouvert
7 ch
ouvrent

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ouvert is \u.vɛʁ\ while ouvrent is \uvʁ\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 7818, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ouvert is recorded at frequency rank #1,094, classified as anadj, pronounced \u.vɛʁ\. ouvrent is at rank #6,724, tagged as averb, pronounced \uvʁ\.

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 7818, this pair ranks #422,028 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of ouvert vs ouvrent

Shared letters: eortuv. Private to "ouvert": -. Private to "ouvrent": n.

"ouvert" · 6 letters · shape VVCVCC  ·  "ouvrent" · 7 letters · shape VVCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • ouvertouevrt · ouverrt · ouvertt · ouvetr · ouvret · ouvvert · ovuert · uovert
  • ouvrentourvent · ouvernt · ouvrennt · ouvrentt · ouvretn · ouvrnet · ouvrrent · ouvvrent

Frequency comparison

ouvert#1,094
ouvrent#6,724

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "ouvert" and "ouvrent" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "ouvert" is an adjective and "ouvrent" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "ouvert" or "ouvrent"?
"ouvert" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,094 in our French list, against #6,724 for "ouvrent". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering ouvert vs ouvrent

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “ouvert”; for a verb, it's “ouvrent”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “ouvert” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list