Which to use
“arrêtaient” and “arrêtait” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #29,228
- “arrêtaient” frequency rank
- #13,512
- “arrêtait” frequency rank
- 42740
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | arrêtaient | arrêtait |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Troisième personne du pluriel de l’indicatif imparfait du verbe arrêter. | Troisième personne du singulier de l’indicatif imparfait du verbe arrêter. |
Same sound, different letters: arrêtaient vs arrêtait
Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 8 letters. arrêtaient runs 10 letters (VCCVCVVVCC) against arrêtait's 8 (VCCVCVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Same sound, different spelling - arrêtaient / arrêtait
This is the hard kind. arrêtaient and arrêtait are pronounced identically (\a.ʁɛ.tɛ\) and both work as averb. Neither the ear nor the grammar will rescue you; only the meaning does, so the glosses below are the whole decision. They differ by 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 42740, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
arrêtaient is recorded at frequency rank #29,228, classified as averb, pronounced \a.ʁɛ.tɛ\. arrêtait is at rank #13,512, tagged as averb, pronounced \a.ʁɛ.tɛ\.
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 42740, this pair ranks #223,285 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of arrêtaient vs arrêtait
Shared letters: airtê. Private to "arrêtaient": en. Private to "arrêtait": -.
"arrêtaient" · 10 letters · shape VCCVCVVVCC · "arrêtait" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCVVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "arrêtaient" and "arrêtait" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "arrêtaient" vs "arrêtait" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
"arrêtaient" and "arrêtait" share a sound, keep the gloss open, then jump to the headword or a nearby trap.
- Full dictionary entry for "arrêtaient" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "arrêtait" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #223,285 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "arrêtaient" and "arrêtait" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "achetaient vs arrêtaient". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #223,285 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.