utilisaisvsutiliséesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#21,803
“utilisais” frequency rank
#4,298
“utilisées” frequency rank
26101
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature utilisais utilisées
Definition Première personne du singulier de l’imparfait de l’indicatif de utiliser. Participe passé féminin pluriel de utiliser.

Where the spellings diverge

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

9 ch
utilisais
9 ch
utilisées

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. utilisais (\y.ti.li.zɛ\) and utilisées (\y.ti.li.ze\) 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 26101, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

utilisais is recorded at frequency rank #21,803, classified as averb, pronounced \y.ti.li.zɛ\. utilisées is at rank #4,298, tagged as averb, pronounced \y.ti.li.ze\.

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 26101, this pair ranks #337,107 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of utilisais vs utilisées

Shared letters: ilstu. Private to "utilisais": a. Private to "utilisées": .

"utilisais" · 9 letters · shape VCVCVCVVC  ·  "utilisées" · 9 letters · shape VCVCVCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • utilisaistuilisais · uitlisais · utiilsais · utiliasis · utilisaiss · utilisasi · utilisias · utilissais

Frequency comparison

utilisais#21,803
utilisées#4,298

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "utilisais" and "utilisées" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\y.ti.li.zɛ\ versus \y.ti.li.ze\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "utilisais" or "utilisées"?
"utilisées" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,298 in our French list, against #21,803 for "utilisais". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering utilisais vs utilisées

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 “utilisais” 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