Which to use
“régnait” and “retenait” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #19,673
- “régnait” frequency rank
- #34,724
- “retenait” frequency rank
- 54397
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | régnait | retenait |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Troisième personne du singulier de l’imparfait de l’indicatif de régner. | Troisième personne du singulier de l’imparfait de retenir. |
Where the eye mixes régnait and retenait
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. régnait runs 7 letters (CVCCVVC) against retenait's 8 (CVCVCVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses régnait with retenait
A purely visual mix-up. régnait (\ʁe.ɲɛ\) and retenait (\ʁə.tə.nɛ\) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 54397, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
régnait is recorded at frequency rank #19,673, classified as averb, pronounced \ʁe.ɲɛ\. retenait is at rank #34,724, tagged as averb, pronounced \ʁə.tə.nɛ\.
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 54397, this pair ranks #134,308 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of régnait vs retenait
Shared letters: ainrt. Private to "régnait": gé. Private to "retenait": e.
"régnait" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVVC · "retenait" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- retenait ← ertenait · reetnait · reteanit · retenaitt · retenati · reteniat · retennait · retneait
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "régnait" and "retenait" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary French text, does "régnait" or "retenait" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "régnait" and "retenait" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "régnait" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "retenait" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #134,308 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "régnait" and "retenait" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "rejetait vs retenait". 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 #134,308 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.