rattrapentvsrattrapésWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#41,486
“rattrapent” frequency rank
#48,141
“rattrapés” frequency rank
89627
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

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

Where the spellings diverge

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

10 ch
rattrapent
9 ch
rattrapés

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. rattrapent (\ʁa.tʁap\) and rattrapés (\ʁa.tʁa.pe\) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 89627, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

rattrapent is recorded at frequency rank #41,486, classified as averb, pronounced \ʁa.tʁap\. rattrapés is at rank #48,141, tagged as averb, pronounced \ʁa.tʁa.pe\.

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 89627, this pair ranks #5,584 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of rattrapent vs rattrapés

Shared letters: aprt. Private to "rattrapent": en. Private to "rattrapés": .

"rattrapent" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCVCVCC  ·  "rattrapés" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

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

Frequency comparison

rattrapent#41,486
rattrapés#48,141

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "rattrapent" and "rattrapés" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\ʁa.tʁap\ versus \ʁa.tʁa.pe\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "rattrapent" or "rattrapés"?
"rattrapent" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #41,486 in our French list, against #48,141 for "rattrapés". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering rattrapent vs rattrapés

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 “rattrapent” 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