traverservstraversésWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: traverser is a verb, traversés is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“traverser” is a verb and “traversés” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#4,294
“traverser” frequency rank
#30,846
“traversés” frequency rank
35140
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature traverser traversés
Definition Passer à travers, d’un côté à l’autre. Masculin pluriel de traversé.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set traverser and traversés apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

9 ch
traverser
9 ch
traversés

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Say them out loud and nothing separates them: traverser and traversés carry the same recorded pronunciation, \tʁa.vɛʁ.se\. Grammar is what tells them apart: one is averb, the other anadjective, so most sentences will only accept one of them. They share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 35140, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

traverser is recorded at frequency rank #4,294, classified as averb, pronounced \tʁa.vɛʁ.se\. traversés is at rank #30,846, tagged as anadj, pronounced \tʁa.vɛʁ.se\.

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 35140, this pair ranks #278,876 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of traverser vs traversés

Shared letters: aerstv. Private to "traverser": -. Private to "traversés": é.

"traverser" · 9 letters · shape CCVCVCCVC  ·  "traversés" · 9 letters · shape CCVCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • traverserrtaverser · tarverser · traevrser · traveresr · traverrser · traverserr · traversre · traversser

Frequency comparison

traverser#4,294
traversés#30,846

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "traverser" and "traversés" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "traverser" is a verb and "traversés" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "traverser" or "traversés"?
"traverser" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,294 in our French list, against #30,846 for "traversés". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering traverser vs traversés

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “traverser”; for an adjective, it's “traversés”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “traverser” 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