Which to use
“sembles” is a verb and “simples” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #17,004
- “sembles” frequency rank
- #2,596
- “simples” frequency rank
- 19600
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | sembles | simples |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Deuxième personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de sembler. | Plantes condimentaires et médicinales telles que la lavande, le romarin, la sauge, le thym, la camomille, l’armoise, l’hysope, etc. |
Where the eye mixes sembles and simples
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: sembles vs simples
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: sembles is \sɑ̃bl\ while simples is \sɛ̃pl\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 19600, 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\. simples is at rank #2,596, tagged as anoun, pronounced \sɛ̃pl\.
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 19600, this pair ranks #372,457 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of sembles vs simples
Shared letters: elms. Private to "sembles": b. Private to "simples": ip.
"sembles" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC · "simples" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "sembles" and "simples" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "sembles" or "simples"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "sembles" and "simples" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "sembles" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "simples" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #372,457 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "sembles" and "simples" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "sembles vs sépales". 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 #372,457 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.