risquévsrisquentWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: risqué is a adjective, risquent is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“risqué” is an adjective and “risquent” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#8,031
“risqué” frequency rank
#7,622
“risquent” frequency rank
15653
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature risqué risquent
Definition Qui présente un risque certain. Troisième personne du pluriel du présent de l’indicatif de risquer.

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch
risqué
8 ch
risquent

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

risqué and risquent form a confusable pair in the French index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 2 letter(s) in length - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 15653, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

risqué is recorded at frequency rank #8,031, classified as anadj. risquent is at rank #7,622, tagged as averb, pronounced \ʁisk\.

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 15653, this pair ranks #391,438 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Frequency comparison

risqué#8,031
risquent#7,622

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "risqué" and "risquent" be used interchangeably?
No, "risqué" and "risquent" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering risqué vs risquent

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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