présentsvsprêtentWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#2,381
“présents” frequency rank
#16,710
“prêtent” frequency rank
19091
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature présents prêtent
Definition Masculin pluriel de présent. Troisième personne du pluriel du présent de l’indicatif de prêter.

Where the spellings diverge

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

8 ch
présents
7 ch
prêtent

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: présents is \pʁe.zɑ̃\ while prêtent is \pʁɛt\. 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 19091, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

présents is recorded at frequency rank #2,381, classified as anadj, pronounced \pʁe.zɑ̃\. prêtent is at rank #16,710, tagged as averb, pronounced \pʁɛt\.

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 19091, this pair ranks #375,062 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of présents vs prêtent

Shared letters: enprt. Private to "présents": . Private to "prêtent": ê.

"présents" · 8 letters · shape CCVCVCCC  ·  "prêtent" · 7 letters · shape CCVCVCC

Frequency comparison

présents#2,381
prêtent#16,710

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "présents" and "prêtent" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "présents" is an adjective and "prêtent" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "présents" or "prêtent"?
"présents" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,381 in our French list, against #16,710 for "prêtent". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering présents vs prêtent

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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