residentvsrésiderWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: resident is a noun, résider is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“resident” is a noun and “résider” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#27,943
“resident” frequency rank
#23,017
“résider” frequency rank
50960
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature resident résider
Definition Habitant (d’un quartier, d’une ville, etc.). Faire sa demeure ou sa résidence en quelque endroit.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set resident and résider apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
resident
7 ch
résider

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: resident is \ˈɹɛz.ɪ.d(ə)nt\ while résider is \ʁe.zi.de\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 50960, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

resident is recorded at frequency rank #27,943, classified as anoun, pronounced \ˈɹɛz.ɪ.d(ə)nt\. résider is at rank #23,017, tagged as averb, pronounced \ʁe.zi.de\.

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 50960, this pair ranks #158,631 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of resident vs résider

Shared letters: deirs. Private to "resident": nt. Private to "résider": é.

"resident" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVCC  ·  "résider" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • residentersident · reisdent · resdient · residdent · residennt · residentt · residetn · residnet

Frequency comparison

resident#27,943
résider#23,017

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "resident" and "résider" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "resident" is a noun and "résider" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "resident" or "résider"?
"résider" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #23,017 in our French list, against #27,943 for "resident". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering resident vs résider

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “resident”; for a verb, it's “résider”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “resident” 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