Which to use
“répondait” is a verb and “répondant” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #13,253
- “répondait” frequency rank
- #8,035
- “répondant” frequency rank
- 21288
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | répondait | répondant |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Troisième personne du singulier de l’imparfait de répondre. | Celui qui répond. |
Where the eye mixes répondait and répondant
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. répondait (CVCVCCVVC) and répondant (CVCVCCVCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses répondait with répondant
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: répondait is \ʁe.pɔ̃.dɛ\ while répondant is \ʁe.pɔ̃.dɑ̃\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - i in “répondait” becomes n in “répondant”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 21288, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
répondait is recorded at frequency rank #13,253, classified as averb, pronounced \ʁe.pɔ̃.dɛ\. répondant is at rank #8,035, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ʁe.pɔ̃.dɑ̃\.
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 21288, this pair ranks #363,958 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of répondait vs répondant
Shared letters: adnoprté. Private to "répondait": i. Private to "répondant": -.
"répondait" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCVVC · "répondant" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCVCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "répondait" for "répondant" ever safe?
Frequency check: "répondait" vs "répondant" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "répondait" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "répondant" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #363,958 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "répondait" and "répondant" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "renonçait vs répondait". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #363,958 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.