Which to use
“répondait” and “répondent” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #13,253
- “répondait” frequency rank
- #5,396
- “répondent” frequency rank
- 18649
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | répondait | répondent |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Troisième personne du singulier de l’imparfait de répondre. | Troisième personne du pluriel du présent de l’indicatif de répondre. |
Where the eye mixes répondait and répondent
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. répondait (CVCVCCVVC) and répondent (CVCVCCVCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between répondait and répondent
A purely visual mix-up. répondait (\ʁe.pɔ̃.dɛ\) and répondent (\ʁe.pɔ̃d\) 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 18649, 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\. répondent is at rank #5,396, tagged as averb, pronounced \ʁe.pɔ̃d\.
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 18649, this pair ranks #377,215 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of répondait vs répondent
Shared letters: dnoprté. Private to "répondait": ai. Private to "répondent": e.
"répondait" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCVVC · "répondent" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCVCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "répondait" and "répondent" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary French text, does "répondait" or "répondent" show up more?
What to do next
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 "répondent" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #377,215 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "répondait" and "répondent" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "renonçait vs répondait". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #377,215 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.