réclamaientvsréclamantWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: réclamaient is a verb, réclamant is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“réclamaient” is a verb and “réclamant” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#29,959
“réclamaient” frequency rank
#16,468
“réclamant” frequency rank
46427
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature réclamaient réclamant
Definition Troisième personne du pluriel de l’imparfait de l’indicatif de réclamer. Celui qui présente une réclamation.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set réclamaient and réclamant apart are highlighted. They share 9 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

11 ch
réclamaient
9 ch
réclamant

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: réclamaient is \ʁe.klɑ.mɛ\ while réclamant is \ʁe.klɑ.mɑ̃\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46427, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

réclamaient is recorded at frequency rank #29,959, classified as averb, pronounced \ʁe.klɑ.mɛ\. réclamant is at rank #16,468, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ʁe.klɑ.mɑ̃\.

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 46427, this pair ranks #195,027 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of réclamaient vs réclamant

Shared letters: aclmnrté. Private to "réclamaient": ei. Private to "réclamant": -.

"réclamaient" · 11 letters · shape CVCCVCVVVCC  ·  "réclamant" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCVCC

Frequency comparison

réclamaient#29,959
réclamant#16,468

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "réclamaient" and "réclamant" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "réclamaient" is a verb and "réclamant" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "réclamaient" or "réclamant"?
"réclamant" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #16,468 in our French list, against #29,959 for "réclamaient". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering réclamaient vs réclamant

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “réclamaient”; for a noun, it's “réclamant”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “réclamaient” 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