semblentvssemblesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#2,339
“semblent” frequency rank
#17,004
“sembles” frequency rank
19343
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature semblent sembles
Definition Troisième personne du pluriel du présent de l’indicatif de sembler. Deuxième personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de sembler.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set semblent and sembles apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
semblent
7 ch
sembles

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

This is the hard kind. semblent and sembles are pronounced identically (\sɑ̃bl\) and both work as averb. Neither the ear nor the grammar will rescue you; only the meaning does, so the glosses below are the whole decision. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 19343, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

semblent is recorded at frequency rank #2,339, classified as averb, pronounced \sɑ̃bl\. sembles is at rank #17,004, 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 19343, this pair ranks #373,739 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of semblent vs sembles

Shared letters: belms. Private to "semblent": nt. Private to "sembles": -.

"semblent" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCVCC  ·  "sembles" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • semblentesmblent · sebmlent · sembblent · sembelnt · semblennt · semblentt · sembletn · sembllent
  • semblesesmbles · sebmles · sembbles · sembels · sembless · semblles · semblse · semlbes

Frequency comparison

semblent#2,339
sembles#17,004

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "semblent" and "sembles" be used interchangeably?
No. They are pronounced the same (\sɑ̃bl\), which is exactly why they get swapped in writing, but the dictionary meanings above are different, and pronunciation is no guide here.
Which is more common, "semblent" or "sembles"?
"semblent" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,339 in our French list, against #17,004 for "sembles". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering semblent vs sembles

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 “semblent” 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