Which to use
“satisfaire” is a verb and “satisfait” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #4,988
- “satisfaire” frequency rank
- #4,375
- “satisfait” frequency rank
- 9363
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | satisfaire | satisfait |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Contenter ; donner satisfaction (à). | Qui est content. |
Where the eye mixes satisfaire and satisfait
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. satisfaire runs 10 letters (CVCVCCVVCV) against satisfait's 9 (CVCVCCVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: satisfaire vs satisfait
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: satisfaire is \sa.tis.fɛʁ\ while satisfait is \sa.tis.fɛ\. 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 (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 9363, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
satisfaire is recorded at frequency rank #4,988, classified as averb, pronounced \sa.tis.fɛʁ\. satisfait is at rank #4,375, tagged as anadj, pronounced \sa.tis.fɛ\.
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 9363, this pair ranks #416,925 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of satisfaire vs satisfait
Shared letters: afist. Private to "satisfaire": er. Private to "satisfait": -.
"satisfaire" · 10 letters · shape CVCVCCVVCV · "satisfait" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- satisfaire ← astisfaire · saitsfaire · satifsaire · satisafire · satisfaier · satisfairre · satisfarie · satisffaire
- satisfait ← astisfait · saitsfait · satifsait · satisafit · satisfaitt · satisfati · satisffait · satisfiat
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "satisfaire" for "satisfait" ever safe?
Frequency check: "satisfaire" vs "satisfait" - which ranks higher?
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 "satisfaire" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "satisfait" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #416,925 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "satisfaire" and "satisfait" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "satisfait vs satisfont". 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 #416,925 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.