Which to use
“séance” is a noun and “sense” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,789
- “séance” frequency rank
- #29,539
- “sense” frequency rank
- 31328
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | séance | sense |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Droit de prendre place dans une compagnie. | Deuxième personne du singulier de l’impératif présent de sensen. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set séance and sense apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: séance is \se.ɑ̃s\ while sense is \ˈzɛnzə\. 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 (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 31328, 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\. sense is at rank #29,539, tagged as averb, pronounced \ˈzɛnzə\.
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 31328, this pair ranks #304,482 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of séance vs sense
Shared letters: ens. Private to "séance": acé. Private to "sense": -.
"séance" · 6 letters · shape CVVCCV · "sense" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- sense ← esnse · senes · sennse · sensse · sesne · snese · ssense
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "séance" and "sense" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "séance" or "sense"?
Remembering séance vs sense
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “séance”; for a verb, it's “sense”.
- 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