répondons vs réponds, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#44,164
“répondons” frequency rank: #3,797
“réponds” frequency rank: 47961
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	répondons	réponds
Definition	Première personne du pluriel de l’indicatif présent de répondre.	Première personne du singulier de l’indicatif présent de répondre.

Where the spellings diverge

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

9 ch

répondons

7 ch

réponds

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. répondons (\ʁe.pɔ̃.dɔ̃\) and réponds (\ʁe.pɔ̃\) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 47961, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

répondons is recorded at frequency rank #44,164, classified as averb, pronounced \ʁe.pɔ̃.dɔ̃\. réponds is at rank #3,797, tagged as averb, pronounced \ʁe.pɔ̃\.

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 47961, this pair ranks #182,773 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of répondons vs réponds

Shared letters: dnoprsé. Private to "répondons": -. Private to "réponds": -.

"répondons" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCVCC · "réponds" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCC

Frequency comparison

répondons#44,164

réponds#3,797

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "répondons" and "réponds" be used interchangeably?

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

Which is more common, "répondons" or "réponds"?

"réponds" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,797 in our French list, against #44,164 for "répondons". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering répondons vs réponds

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 “répondons” entry
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