Which to use
“patent” and “patients” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #34,663
- “patent” frequency rank
- #2,534
- “patients” frequency rank
- 37197
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | patent | patients |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Clair, manifeste, qui est évident. | Masculin pluriel de patient. |
Where the eye mixes patent and patients
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. patent runs 6 letters (CVCVCC) against patients's 8 (CVCVVCCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: patent vs patients
A purely visual mix-up. patent (\pa.tɑ̃\) and patients (\pa.sjɑ̃\) 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 37197, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
patent is recorded at frequency rank #34,663, classified as anadj, pronounced \pa.tɑ̃\. patients is at rank #2,534, tagged as anadj, pronounced \pa.sjɑ̃\.
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 37197, this pair ranks #264,181 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of patent vs patients
Shared letters: aenpt. Private to "patent": -. Private to "patients": is.
"patent" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC · "patients" · 8 letters · shape CVCVVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "patent" and "patients" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "patent" vs "patients" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "patent" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "patients" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #264,181 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "patent" and "patients" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "patent vs payen". 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 #264,181 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.