récentevsrécentsWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#3,958
“récente” frequency rank
#5,917
“récents” frequency rank
9875
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature récente récents
Definition Féminin singulier de récent. Masculin pluriel de récent.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set récente and récents apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
récente
7 ch
récents

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. récente (\ʁe.sɑ̃t\) and récents (\ʁe.sɑ̃\) 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 a single letter - e in “récente” becomes s in “récents”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 9875, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

récente is recorded at frequency rank #3,958, classified as anadj, pronounced \ʁe.sɑ̃t\. récents is at rank #5,917, tagged as anadj, pronounced \ʁe.sɑ̃\.

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 9875, this pair ranks #415,085 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of récente vs récents

Shared letters: cenrté. Private to "récente": -. Private to "récents": s.

"récente" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV  ·  "récents" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCC

Frequency comparison

récente#3,958
récents#5,917

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "récente" and "récents" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\ʁe.sɑ̃t\ versus \ʁe.sɑ̃\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "récente" or "récents"?
"récente" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,958 in our French list, against #5,917 for "récents". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering récente vs récents

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 “récente” 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