Which to use
“sentir” and “sévir” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,756
- “sentir” frequency rank
- #30,832
- “sévir” frequency rank
- 32588
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | sentir | sévir |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Recevoir quelque impression par le moyen des sens, éprouver en soi quelque chose d’agréable ou de pénible. | Exercer la répression avec rigueur, contre les personnes, leurs actes. |
Where the eye mixes sentir and sévir
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. sentir runs 6 letters (CVCCVC) against sévir's 5 (CVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses sentir with sévir
A purely visual mix-up. sentir (\sɑ̃.tiʁ\) and sévir (\se.viʁ\) 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 32588, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
sentir is recorded at frequency rank #1,756, classified as averb, pronounced \sɑ̃.tiʁ\. sévir is at rank #30,832, tagged as averb, pronounced \se.viʁ\.
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 32588, this pair ranks #296,287 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of sentir vs sévir
Shared letters: irs. Private to "sentir": ent. Private to "sévir": vé.
"sentir" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "sévir" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- sentir ← esntir · senitr · senntir · sentirr · sentri · senttir · setnir · snetir
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "sentir" for "sévir" ever safe?
Which is more common, "sentir" or "sévir"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "sentir" and "sévir" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "sentir" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "sévir" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #296,287 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "sentir" and "sévir" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Selim vs sévir". 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 #296,287 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.