Which to use
“prévoit” and “prévoyait” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #4,093
- “prévoit” frequency rank
- #13,879
- “prévoyait” frequency rank
- 17972
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | prévoit | prévoyait |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Troisième personne du singulier de l’indicatif présent de prévoir. | Troisième personne du singulier de l’imparfait de prévoir. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set prévoit and prévoyait apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
A purely visual mix-up. prévoit (\pʁe.vwa\) and prévoyait (\pʁe.vwa.jɛ\) 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 17972, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
prévoit is recorded at frequency rank #4,093, classified as averb, pronounced \pʁe.vwa\. prévoyait is at rank #13,879, tagged as averb, pronounced \pʁe.vwa.jɛ\.
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 17972, this pair ranks #380,596 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of prévoit vs prévoyait
Shared letters: ioprtvé. Private to "prévoit": -. Private to "prévoyait": ay.
"prévoit" · 7 letters · shape CCVCVVC · "prévoyait" · 9 letters · shape CCVCVVVVC
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "prévoit" and "prévoyait" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "prévoit" or "prévoyait"?
Remembering prévoit vs prévoyait
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 “prévoit” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable