présentvsprésentezWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#696
“présent” frequency rank
#20,828
“présentez” frequency rank
21524
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature présent présentez
Definition Qui est, qui se trouve actuellement dans le lieu dont on parle. Deuxième personne du pluriel du présent de l’indicatif de présenter.

Where the spellings diverge

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

7 ch
présent
9 ch
présentez

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: présent is \pʁe.zɑ̃\ while présentez is \pʁe.zɑ̃.te\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “présent” sits inside “présentez”, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 21524, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

présent is recorded at frequency rank #696, classified as anadj, pronounced \pʁe.zɑ̃\. présentez is at rank #20,828, tagged as averb, pronounced \pʁe.zɑ̃.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 21524, this pair ranks #362,727 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of présent vs présentez

Shared letters: enprsté. Private to "présent": -. Private to "présentez": z.

"présent" · 7 letters · shape CCVCVCC  ·  "présentez" · 9 letters · shape CCVCVCCVC

Frequency comparison

présent#696
présentez#20,828

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "présent" and "présentez" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "présent" is an adjective and "présentez" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "présent" or "présentez"?
"présent" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #696 in our French list, against #20,828 for "présentez". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering présent vs présentez

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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