reconnaisvsreconnusWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: reconnais is a verb, reconnus is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“reconnais” is a verb and “reconnus” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#6,433
“reconnais” frequency rank
#6,993
“reconnus” frequency rank
13426
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature reconnais reconnus
Definition Première personne du singulier de l’indicatif présent de reconnaître (ou reconnaitre). Masculin pluriel de reconnu.

Where the spellings diverge

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

9 ch
reconnais
8 ch
reconnus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

reconnais and reconnus form a confusable pair in the French index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 13426, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

reconnais is recorded at frequency rank #6,433, classified as averb, pronounced \ʁə.kɔ.nɛ\. reconnus is at rank #6,993, tagged as anadj, pronounced \ʁə.kɔ.ny\.

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 13426, this pair ranks #401,088 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Frequency comparison

reconnais#6,433
reconnus#6,993

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "reconnais" and "reconnus" be used interchangeably?
No, "reconnais" and "reconnus" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering reconnais vs reconnus

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “reconnais”; for an adjective, it's “reconnus”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “reconnais” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list