Which to use
“arêtes” is a noun and “arrêtes” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #23,766
- “arêtes” frequency rank
- #10,116
- “arrêtes” frequency rank
- 33882
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | arêtes | arrêtes |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de arête. | Deuxième personne du singulier de l’indicatif présent du verbe arrêter. |
Same sound, different letters: arêtes vs arrêtes
Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 6 letters. arêtes runs 6 letters (VCVCVC) against arrêtes's 7 (VCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Homophone desk: arêtes vs arrêtes
Say them out loud and nothing separates them: arêtes and arrêtes 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 33882, 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\. arrêtes is at rank #10,116, 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 33882, this pair ranks #287,636 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of arêtes vs arrêtes
Shared letters: aerstê. Private to "arêtes": -. Private to "arrêtes": -.
"arêtes" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVC · "arrêtes" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "arêtes" and "arrêtes" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "arêtes" vs "arrêtes" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Sound matches; spelling doesn't. Use the exits below to lock the right form or check a cousin pair.
- Full dictionary entry for "arêtes" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "arrêtes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #287,636 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "arêtes" and "arrêtes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "arêtes vs Artis". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #287,636 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.