Which to use
“répondais” and “répondrait” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #25,489
- “répondais” frequency rank
- #34,736
- “répondrait” frequency rank
- 60225
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | répondais | répondrait |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Première personne du singulier de l’imparfait de répondre. | Troisième personne du singulier du conditionnel de répondre. |
Where the eye mixes répondais and répondrait
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. répondais runs 9 letters (CVCVCCVVC) against répondrait's 10 (CVCVCCCVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between répondais and répondrait
A purely visual mix-up. répondais (\ʁe.pɔ̃.dɛ\) and répondrait (\ʁe.pɔ̃.dʁɛ\) 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 60225, 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\. répondrait is at rank #34,736, tagged as averb, pronounced \ʁe.pɔ̃.dʁɛ\.
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 60225, this pair ranks #98,768 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of répondais vs répondrait
Shared letters: adinopré. Private to "répondais": s. Private to "répondrait": t.
"répondais" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCVVC · "répondrait" · 10 letters · shape CVCVCCCVVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "répondais" for "répondrait" ever safe?
In ordinary French text, does "répondais" or "répondrait" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "répondais" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "répondrait" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #98,768 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "répondais" and "répondrait" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "répondrait vs reprendrait". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #98,768 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.