semencevssentenceWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#24,029
“semence” frequency rank
#10,407
“sentence” frequency rank
34436
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature semence sentence
Definition Élément originaire d’un être. Apophtegme, maxime, opinion exprimée d’une manière dogmatique.

Where the spellings diverge

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

7 ch
semence
8 ch
sentence

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. semence (\sə.mɑ̃s\) and sentence (\sɑ̃.tɑ̃s\) 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 34436, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

semence is recorded at frequency rank #24,029, classified as anoun, pronounced \sə.mɑ̃s\. sentence is at rank #10,407, tagged as anoun, pronounced \sɑ̃.tɑ̃s\.

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 34436, this pair ranks #283,837 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of semence vs sentence

Shared letters: cens. Private to "semence": m. Private to "sentence": t.

"semence" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV  ·  "sentence" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • semenceesmence · seemnce · semecne · semencce · semenec · semennce · semmence · semnece
  • sentenceesntence · senetnce · senntence · sentecne · sentencce · sentenec · sentennce · sentnece

Frequency comparison

semence#24,029
sentence#10,407

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "semence" and "sentence" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\sə.mɑ̃s\ versus \sɑ̃.tɑ̃s\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "semence" or "sentence"?
"sentence" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,407 in our French list, against #24,029 for "semence". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering semence vs sentence

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 “semence” 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