Which to use
“suivent” and “survenu” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #3,042
- “suivent” frequency rank
- #14,162
- “survenu” frequency rank
- 17204
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | suivent | survenu |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Troisième personne du pluriel du présent de l’indicatif du verbe suivre. | Participe passé masculin singulier de survenir. |
Where the eye mixes suivent and survenu
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. suivent (CVVCVCC) and survenu (CVCCVCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses suivent with survenu
A purely visual mix-up. suivent (\sɥiv\) and survenu (\syʁ.və.ny\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17204, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
suivent is recorded at frequency rank #3,042, classified as averb, pronounced \sɥiv\. survenu is at rank #14,162, tagged as averb, pronounced \syʁ.və.ny\.
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 17204, this pair ranks #384,293 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of suivent vs survenu
Shared letters: ensuv. Private to "suivent": it. Private to "survenu": r.
"suivent" · 7 letters · shape CVVCVCC · "survenu" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "suivent" for "survenu" ever safe?
Frequency check: "suivent" vs "survenu" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "suivent" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "survenu" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #384,293 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "suivent" and "survenu" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "sureau vs survenu". 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 #384,293 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.