Which to use
“arrêtaient” and “arrêtent” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #29,228
- “arrêtaient” frequency rank
- #7,275
- “arrêtent” frequency rank
- 36503
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | arrêtaient | arrêtent |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Troisième personne du pluriel de l’indicatif imparfait du verbe arrêter. | Troisième personne du pluriel de l’indicatif présent du verbe arrêter. |
Where the eye mixes arrêtaient and arrêtent
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. arrêtaient runs 10 letters (VCCVCVVVCC) against arrêtent's 8 (VCCVCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: arrêtaient vs arrêtent
A purely visual mix-up. arrêtaient (\a.ʁɛ.tɛ\) and arrêtent (\a.ʁɛt\) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 36503, 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\. 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 36503, this pair ranks #269,126 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of arrêtaient vs arrêtent
Shared letters: aenrtê. Private to "arrêtaient": i. Private to "arrêtent": -.
"arrêtaient" · 10 letters · shape VCCVCVVVCC · "arrêtent" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCVCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "arrêtaient" for "arrêtent" ever safe?
Which is more common, "arrêtaient" or "arrêtent"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "arrêtaient" 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 #269,126 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "arrêtaient" and "arrêtent" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "achetaient vs arrêtaient". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #269,126 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.