prenezvsprêterWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#2,539
“prenez” frequency rank
#5,910
“prêter” frequency rank
8449
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature prenez prêter
Definition Deuxième personne du pluriel de l’indicatif présent du verbe prendre. Fournir, donner.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set prenez and prêter apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
prenez
6 ch
prêter

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. prenez (\pʁə.ne\) and prêter (\pʁe.te\) 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 8449, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

prenez is recorded at frequency rank #2,539, classified as averb, pronounced \pʁə.ne\. prêter is at rank #5,910, tagged as averb, pronounced \pʁe.te\.

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 8449, this pair ranks #419,984 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of prenez vs prêter

Shared letters: epr. Private to "prenez": nz. Private to "prêter": .

"prenez" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC  ·  "prêter" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • prenezpernez · pprenez · preenz · prenezz · prennez · prenze · prneez · prrenez

Frequency comparison

prenez#2,539
prêter#5,910

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "prenez" and "prêter" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\pʁə.ne\ versus \pʁe.te\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "prenez" or "prêter"?
"prenez" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,539 in our French list, against #5,910 for "prêter". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering prenez vs prêter

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 “prenez” 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