Which to use
“réponds” is a verb and “réponse” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #3,797
- “réponds” frequency rank
- #698
- “réponse” frequency rank
- 4495
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | réponds | réponse |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Première personne du singulier de l’indicatif présent de répondre. | Parole dite, ou acte effectué, en réaction à une question posée, une demande, ou à une déclaration, ou encore à un évènement. |
Where the eye mixes réponds and réponse
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. réponds (CVCVCCC) and réponse (CVCVCCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses réponds with réponse
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: réponds is \ʁe.pɔ̃\ while réponse is \ʁe.pɔ̃s\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 4495, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
réponds is recorded at frequency rank #3,797, classified as averb, pronounced \ʁe.pɔ̃\. réponse is at rank #698, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ʁe.pɔ̃s\.
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 4495, this pair ranks #431,461 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of réponds vs réponse
Shared letters: noprsé. Private to "réponds": d. Private to "réponse": e.
"réponds" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCC · "réponse" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "réponds" and "réponse" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary French text, does "réponds" or "réponse" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "réponds" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "réponse" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #431,461 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "réponds" and "réponse" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "réponds vs rêvons". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #431,461 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.