semencesvssentencesConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#14,362
“semences” frequency rank
#30,366
“sentences” frequency rank
44728
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature semences sentences
Definition Pluriel de semence. Pluriel de sentence.

Where the eye mixes semences and sentences

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. semences runs 8 letters (CVCVCCVC) against sentences's 9 (CVCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
semences
9 ch
sentences

Look-alike desk: semences vs sentences

A purely visual mix-up. semences (\sə.mɑ̃s\) and sentences (\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 44728, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

semences is recorded at frequency rank #14,362, classified as anoun, pronounced \sə.mɑ̃s\. sentences is at rank #30,366, 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 44728, this pair ranks #208,263 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of semences vs sentences

Shared letters: cens. Private to "semences": m. Private to "sentences": t.

"semences" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC  ·  "sentences" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • semences ← esmences · seemnces · semecnes · semencces · semencess · semencse · semenecs · semennces
  • sentences ← esntences · senetnces · senntences · sentecnes · sentencces · sentencess · sentencse · sentenecs

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "semences" for "sentences" ever safe?
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, "semences" or "sentences"?
"semences" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #14,362 in our French list, against #30,366 for "sentences". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "semences" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "sentences" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #208,263 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "semences" and "sentences" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "sentence vs sentences". 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 #208,263 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list