séancevssemenceWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“séance” and “semence” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#1,789
“séance” frequency rank
#24,029
“semence” frequency rank
25818
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature séance semence
Definition Droit de prendre place dans une compagnie. Élément originaire d’un être.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set séance and semence apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
séance
7 ch
semence

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. séance (\se.ɑ̃s\) and semence (\sə.mɑ̃s\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 25818, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

séance is recorded at frequency rank #1,789, classified as anoun, pronounced \se.ɑ̃s\. semence is at rank #24,029, tagged as anoun, pronounced \sə.mɑ̃s\.

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 25818, this pair ranks #338,690 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of séance vs semence

Shared letters: cens. Private to "séance": . Private to "semence": m.

"séance" · 6 letters · shape CVVCCV  ·  "semence" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • semenceesmence · seemnce · semecne · semencce · semenec · semennce · semmence · semnece

Frequency comparison

séance#1,789
semence#24,029

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "séance" and "semence" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\se.ɑ̃s\ versus \sə.mɑ̃s\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "séance" or "semence"?
"séance" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,789 in our French list, against #24,029 for "semence". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering séance vs semence

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “séance” 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