residencevsresidentWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#43,115
“residence” frequency rank
#27,943
“resident” frequency rank
71058
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature residence resident
Definition Demeure, domicile, gîte, habitation, logement, logis. Habitant (d’un quartier, d’une ville, etc.).

Where the spellings diverge

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

9 ch
residence
8 ch
resident

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. residence ([ˈɹɛz.ɪ.dəns]) and resident (\ˈɹɛz.ɪ.d(ə)nt\) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 71058, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

residence is recorded at frequency rank #43,115, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈɹɛz.ɪ.dəns]. resident is at rank #27,943, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ˈɹɛz.ɪ.d(ə)nt\.

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 71058, this pair ranks #48,957 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of residence vs resident

Shared letters: deinrs. Private to "residence": c. Private to "resident": t.

"residence" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCVCCV  ·  "resident" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • residenceersidence · reisdence · resdience · residdence · residecne · residencce · residenec · residennce
  • residentersident · reisdent · resdient · residdent · residennt · residentt · residetn · residnet

Frequency comparison

residence#43,115
resident#27,943

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "residence" and "resident" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈɹɛz.ɪ.dəns] versus \ˈɹɛz.ɪ.d(ə)nt\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "residence" or "resident"?
"resident" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #27,943 in our French list, against #43,115 for "residence". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering residence vs resident

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 “residence” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list