Which to use
“répondais” and “répondons” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #25,489
- “répondais” frequency rank
- #44,164
- “répondons” frequency rank
- 69653
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | répondais | répondons |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Première personne du singulier de l’imparfait de répondre. | Première personne du pluriel de l’indicatif présent de répondre. |
Where the eye mixes répondais and répondons
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. répondais (CVCVCCVVC) and répondons (CVCVCCVCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between répondais and répondons
A purely visual mix-up. répondais (\ʁe.pɔ̃.dɛ\) and répondons (\ʁe.pɔ̃.dɔ̃\) 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 69653, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
répondais is recorded at frequency rank #25,489, classified as averb, pronounced \ʁe.pɔ̃.dɛ\. répondons is at rank #44,164, tagged as averb, pronounced \ʁe.pɔ̃.dɔ̃\.
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 69653, this pair ranks #54,330 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of répondais vs répondons
Shared letters: dnoprsé. Private to "répondais": ai. Private to "répondons": -.
"répondais" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCVVC · "répondons" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCVCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "répondais" and "répondons" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "répondais" vs "répondons" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "répondais" and "répondons" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "répondais" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "répondons" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #54,330 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "répondais" and "répondons" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "répondons vs répondrons". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #54,330 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.