Which to use
“arrêtait” and “arrêtent” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #13,512
- “arrêtait” frequency rank
- #7,275
- “arrêtent” frequency rank
- 20787
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | arrêtait | arrêtent |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Troisième personne du singulier de l’indicatif imparfait du verbe arrêter. | Troisième personne du pluriel de l’indicatif présent du verbe arrêter. |
Where the eye mixes arrêtait and arrêtent
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. arrêtait (VCCVCVVC) and arrêtent (VCCVCVCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: arrêtait vs arrêtent
A purely visual mix-up. arrêtait (\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 share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 20787, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
arrêtait is recorded at frequency rank #13,512, 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 20787, this pair ranks #366,510 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of arrêtait vs arrêtent
Shared letters: artê. Private to "arrêtait": i. Private to "arrêtent": en.
"arrêtait" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCVVC · "arrêtent" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCVCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "arrêtait" and "arrêtent" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary French text, does "arrêtait" or "arrêtent" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "arrêtait" 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 #366,510 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "arrêtait" and "arrêtent" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "âprement vs arrêtent". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #366,510 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.