réfléchissentvsréfléchissonsWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#22,688
“réfléchissent” frequency rank
#41,514
“réfléchissons” frequency rank
64202
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature réfléchissent réfléchissons
Definition Troisième personne du pluriel de l’indicatif présent de réfléchir. Première personne du pluriel de l’indicatif présent de réfléchir.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set réfléchissent and réfléchissons apart are highlighted. They share 11 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

13 ch
réfléchissent
13 ch
réfléchissons

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. réfléchissent (\ʁe.fle.ʃis\) and réfléchissons (\ʁe.fle.ʃi.sɔ̃\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 64202, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

réfléchissent is recorded at frequency rank #22,688, classified as averb, pronounced \ʁe.fle.ʃis\. réfléchissons is at rank #41,514, tagged as averb, pronounced \ʁe.fle.ʃi.sɔ̃\.

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 64202, this pair ranks #78,210 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of réfléchissent vs réfléchissons

Shared letters: cfhilnrsé. Private to "réfléchissent": et. Private to "réfléchissons": o.

"réfléchissent" · 13 letters · shape CVCCVCCVCCVCC  ·  "réfléchissons" · 13 letters · shape CVCCVCCVCCVCC

Frequency comparison

réfléchissent#22,688
réfléchissons#41,514

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "réfléchissent" and "réfléchissons" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\ʁe.fle.ʃis\ versus \ʁe.fle.ʃi.sɔ̃\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "réfléchissent" or "réfléchissons"?
"réfléchissent" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #22,688 in our French list, against #41,514 for "réfléchissons". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering réfléchissent vs réfléchissons

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list