semblesvssemblezWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#17,004
“sembles” frequency rank
#24,028
“semblez” frequency rank
41032
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

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

Where the spellings diverge

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

7 ch
sembles
7 ch
semblez

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. sembles (\sɑ̃bl\) and semblez (\sɑ̃.ble\) 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 a single letter - s in “sembles” becomes z in “semblez”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 41032, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

sembles is recorded at frequency rank #17,004, classified as averb, pronounced \sɑ̃bl\. semblez is at rank #24,028, tagged as averb, pronounced \sɑ̃.ble\.

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 41032, this pair ranks #236,073 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of sembles vs semblez

Shared letters: belms. Private to "sembles": -. Private to "semblez": z.

"sembles" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC  ·  "semblez" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • semblesesmbles · sebmles · sembbles · sembels · sembless · semblles · semblse · semlbes
  • semblezesmblez · sebmlez · sembblez · sembelz · semblezz · sembllez · semblze · semlbez

Frequency comparison

sembles#17,004
semblez#24,028

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "sembles" and "semblez" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\sɑ̃bl\ versus \sɑ̃.ble\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "sembles" or "semblez"?
"sembles" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #17,004 in our French list, against #24,028 for "semblez". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering sembles vs semblez

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 “sembles” 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