répondez vs répondre, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“répondez” and “répondre” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#10,575
“répondez” frequency rank: #814
“répondre” frequency rank: 11389
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	répondez	répondre
Definition	Deuxième personne du pluriel de l’indicatif présent de répondre.	Donner une réponse à ce qui a été dit ou demandé.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set répondez and répondre apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch

répondez

8 ch

répondre

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. répondez (\ʁe.pɔ̃.de\) and répondre (\ʁe.pɔ̃dʁ\) 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 11389, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

répondez is recorded at frequency rank #10,575, classified as averb, pronounced \ʁe.pɔ̃.de\. répondre is at rank #814, tagged as averb, pronounced \ʁe.pɔ̃dʁ\.

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 11389, this pair ranks #409,333 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of répondez vs répondre

Shared letters: denopré. Private to "répondez": z. Private to "répondre": -.

"répondez" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC · "répondre" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCCV

Frequency comparison

répondez#10,575

répondre#814

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "répondez" and "répondre" be used interchangeably?

No. They are said differently (\ʁe.pɔ̃.de\ versus \ʁe.pɔ̃dʁ\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.

Which is more common, "répondez" or "répondre"?

"répondre" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #814 in our French list, against #10,575 for "répondez". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering répondez vs répondre

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “répondez” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable