utilisantvsutilisentWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#3,112
“utilisant” frequency rank
#3,425
“utilisent” frequency rank
6537
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature utilisant utilisent
Definition Participe présent du verbe utiliser. Troisième personne du pluriel du présent de l’indicatif de utiliser.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set utilisant and utilisent apart are highlighted. They share 8 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

9 ch
utilisant
9 ch
utilisent

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. utilisant (\y.ti.li.zɑ̃\) and utilisent (\y.ti.liz\) 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 a single letter - a in “utilisant” becomes e in “utilisent”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 6537, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

utilisant is recorded at frequency rank #3,112, classified as averb, pronounced \y.ti.li.zɑ̃\. utilisent is at rank #3,425, tagged as averb, pronounced \y.ti.liz\.

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 6537, this pair ranks #425,949 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of utilisant vs utilisent

Shared letters: ilnstu. Private to "utilisant": a. Private to "utilisent": e.

"utilisant" · 9 letters · shape VCVCVCVCC  ·  "utilisent" · 9 letters · shape VCVCVCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • utilisanttuilisant · uitlisant · utiilsant · utiliasnt · utilisannt · utilisantt · utilisatn · utilisnat
  • utilisenttuilisent · uitlisent · utiilsent · utiliesnt · utilisennt · utilisentt · utilisetn · utilisnet

Frequency comparison

utilisant#3,112
utilisent#3,425

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "utilisant" and "utilisent" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\y.ti.li.zɑ̃\ versus \y.ti.liz\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "utilisant" or "utilisent"?
"utilisant" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,112 in our French list, against #3,425 for "utilisent". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering utilisant vs utilisent

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 “utilisant” 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