Which to use
“sample” is a noun and “semble” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #40,483
- “sample” frequency rank
- #429
- “semble” frequency rank
- 40912
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | sample | semble |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Variante de semple. | Première personne du singulier de l’indicatif présent du verbe sembler. |
Where the eye mixes sample and semble
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: sample vs semble
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: sample is \sɑ̃pl\ while semble is \sɑ̃bl\. 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 (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40912, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
sample is recorded at frequency rank #40,483, classified as anoun, pronounced \sɑ̃pl\. semble is at rank #429, tagged as averb, pronounced \sɑ̃bl\.
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 40912, this pair ranks #236,974 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of sample vs semble
Shared letters: elms. Private to "sample": ap. Private to "semble": b.
"sample" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV · "semble" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "sample" and "semble" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary French text, does "sample" or "semble" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "sample" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "semble" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #236,974 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "sample" and "semble" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "sample vs samples". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #236,974 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.