rattrapévsrattrapentWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#16,718
“rattrapé” frequency rank
#41,486
“rattrapent” frequency rank
58204
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature rattrapé rattrapent
Definition Participe passé masculin singulier de rattraper. Troisième personne du pluriel du présent de l’indicatif de rattraper.

Where the spellings diverge

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

8 ch
rattrapé
10 ch
rattrapent

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. rattrapé (\ʁa.tʁa.pe\) and rattrapent (\ʁa.tʁap\) 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 58204, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

rattrapé is recorded at frequency rank #16,718, classified as averb, pronounced \ʁa.tʁa.pe\. rattrapent is at rank #41,486, tagged as averb, pronounced \ʁa.tʁap\.

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 58204, this pair ranks #110,433 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of rattrapé vs rattrapent

Shared letters: aprt. Private to "rattrapé": é. Private to "rattrapent": en.

"rattrapé" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCVCV  ·  "rattrapent" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCVCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • rattrapentarttrapent · ratrapent · ratrtapent · rattarpent · rattraepnt · rattrapennt · rattrapentt · rattrapetn

Frequency comparison

rattrapé#16,718
rattrapent#41,486

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "rattrapé" and "rattrapent" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\ʁa.tʁa.pe\ versus \ʁa.tʁap\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "rattrapé" or "rattrapent"?
"rattrapé" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #16,718 in our French list, against #41,486 for "rattrapent". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering rattrapé vs rattrapent

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 “rattrapé” 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