connaître vs connaitre

Joakim R.C1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

connaître vs connaitre

I was just judged incorrect for suggesting "connait" as the 3rd person present indicative version of the verb (should have been connaît). Now, I often go to fr.wiktionary.org to look up words' meaning and conjugations. It lists two verbs, connaitre and connaître with very similar meaning. Are these two distinct verbs or just two alternative spellings of the same verb?
Asked 8 years ago
LauraNative French expert teacher in KwiziqCorrect answer
Bonjour Joakim,

Yes, it's the same French verb. Up until recently, the (only) correct spelling was connaître, but the spelling reform of 1990 now allows connaitre. The same goes for the third person singular conjugation: connaît is the traditional spelling, but connait is now allowed as well.

connaître vs connaitre

I was just judged incorrect for suggesting "connait" as the 3rd person present indicative version of the verb (should have been connaît). Now, I often go to fr.wiktionary.org to look up words' meaning and conjugations. It lists two verbs, connaitre and connaître with very similar meaning. Are these two distinct verbs or just two alternative spellings of the same verb?

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