Which to use
“satisfaire” is a verb and “satisfaites” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #4,988
- “satisfaire” frequency rank
- #31,729
- “satisfaites” frequency rank
- 36717
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | satisfaire | satisfaites |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Contenter ; donner satisfaction (à). | Féminin pluriel de satisfaite. |
Where the eye mixes satisfaire and satisfaites
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. satisfaire runs 10 letters (CVCVCCVVCV) against satisfaites's 11 (CVCVCCVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses satisfaire with satisfaites
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: satisfaire is \sa.tis.fɛʁ\ while satisfaites is \sa.tis.fɛt\. 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 36717, 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\. satisfaites is at rank #31,729, tagged as anadj, pronounced \sa.tis.fɛt\.
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 36717, this pair ranks #267,611 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of satisfaire vs satisfaites
Shared letters: aefist. Private to "satisfaire": r. Private to "satisfaites": -.
"satisfaire" · 10 letters · shape CVCVCCVVCV · "satisfaites" · 11 letters · shape CVCVCCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- satisfaire ← astisfaire · saitsfaire · satifsaire · satisafire · satisfaier · satisfairre · satisfarie · satisffaire
- satisfaites ← astisfaites · saitsfaites · satifsaites · satisafites · satisfaiets · satisfaitess · satisfaitse · satisfaittes
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "satisfaire" and "satisfaites" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary French text, does "satisfaire" or "satisfaites" show up more?
After this comparison
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 "satisfaites" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #267,611 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "satisfaire" and "satisfaites" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "satisfaite vs satisfaites". 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 #267,611 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.