Which to use
“arêtes” is a noun and “arrêtent” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #23,766
- “arêtes” frequency rank
- #7,275
- “arrêtent” frequency rank
- 31041
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | arêtes | arrêtent |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de arête. | Troisième personne du pluriel de l’indicatif présent du verbe arrêter. |
Same sound, different letters: arêtes vs arrêtent
Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 5 letters. arêtes runs 6 letters (VCVCVC) against arrêtent's 8 (VCCVCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Same sound, different spelling - arêtes / arrêtent
Say them out loud and nothing separates them: arêtes and arrêtent carry the same recorded pronunciation, \a.ʁɛt\. Grammar is what tells them apart: one is anoun, the other averb, so most sentences will only accept one of them. They differ by 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 31041, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
arêtes is recorded at frequency rank #23,766, classified as anoun, pronounced \a.ʁɛt\. arrêtent is at rank #7,275, tagged as averb, pronounced \a.ʁɛt\.
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 31041, this pair ranks #306,366 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of arêtes vs arrêtent
Shared letters: aertê. Private to "arêtes": s. Private to "arrêtent": n.
"arêtes" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVC · "arrêtent" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCVCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "arêtes" and "arrêtent" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "arêtes" or "arrêtent"?
After this comparison
You've separated the homophone pair "arêtes" / "arrêtent". Follow the links when you need the full entry or a neighbour that trips the same ear.
- Full dictionary entry for "arêtes" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "arrêtent" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #306,366 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "arêtes" and "arrêtent" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "arêtes vs Artis". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #306,366 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.