prescrirevsprescritsWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: prescrire is a verb, prescrits is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“prescrire” is a verb and “prescrits” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#15,463
“prescrire” frequency rank
#23,987
“prescrits” frequency rank
39450
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature prescrire prescrits
Definition Ordonner, recommander ou marquer précisément ce qu’on veut qui soit fait. Pluriel de prescrit.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set prescrire and prescrits apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

9 ch
prescrire
9 ch
prescrits

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: prescrire is \pʁɛs.kʁiʁ\ while prescrits is \pʁɛs.kʁi\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 39450, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

prescrire is recorded at frequency rank #15,463, classified as averb, pronounced \pʁɛs.kʁiʁ\. prescrits is at rank #23,987, tagged as anoun, pronounced \pʁɛs.kʁi\.

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 39450, this pair ranks #247,876 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of prescrire vs prescrits

Shared letters: ceiprs. Private to "prescrire": -. Private to "prescrits": t.

"prescrire" · 9 letters · shape CCVCCCVCV  ·  "prescrits" · 9 letters · shape CCVCCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • prescrireperscrire · pprescrire · precsrire · presccrire · prescirre · prescrier · prescrirre · prescrrie
  • prescritsperscrits · pprescrits · precsrits · presccrits · prescirts · prescrist · prescritss · prescritts

Frequency comparison

prescrire#15,463
prescrits#23,987

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "prescrire" and "prescrits" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "prescrire" is a verb and "prescrits" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "prescrire" or "prescrits"?
"prescrire" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #15,463 in our French list, against #23,987 for "prescrits". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering prescrire vs prescrits

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “prescrire”; for a noun, it's “prescrits”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “prescrire” 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