Which to use
“récente” is an adjective and “relents” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #3,958
- “récente” frequency rank
- #39,010
- “relents” frequency rank
- 42968
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | récente | relents |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Féminin singulier de récent. | Pluriel de relent. |
Where the eye mixes récente and relents
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. récente (CVCVCCV) and relents (CVCVCCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses récente with relents
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: récente is \ʁe.sɑ̃t\ while relents is \ʁə.lɑ̃\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 42968, 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\. relents is at rank #39,010, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ʁə.lɑ̃\.
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 42968, this pair ranks #221,599 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of récente vs relents
Shared letters: enrt. Private to "récente": cé. Private to "relents": ls.
"récente" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV · "relents" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- relents ← erlents · reelnts · relennts · relenst · relentss · relentts · reletns · rellents
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "récente" for "relents" ever safe?
In ordinary French text, does "récente" or "relents" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "récente" and "relents" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "récente" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "relents" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #221,599 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "récente" and "relents" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "relents vs rement". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #221,599 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.