arrêtentvsarrêtesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“arrêtent” and “arrêtes” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#7,275
“arrêtent” frequency rank
#10,116
“arrêtes” frequency rank
17391
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature arrêtent arrêtes
Definition Troisième personne du pluriel de l’indicatif présent du verbe arrêter. Deuxième personne du singulier de l’indicatif présent du verbe arrêter.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set arrêtent and arrêtes apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
arrêtent
7 ch
arrêtes

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

This is the hard kind. arrêtent and arrêtes are pronounced identically (\a.ʁɛt\) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17391, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

arrêtent is recorded at frequency rank #7,275, classified as averb, 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 17391, this pair ranks #383,406 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of arrêtent vs arrêtes

Shared letters: aertê. Private to "arrêtent": n. Private to "arrêtes": s.

"arrêtent" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCVCC  ·  "arrêtes" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC

Frequency comparison

arrêtent#7,275
arrêtes#10,116

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "arrêtent" and "arrêtes" be used interchangeably?
No. They are pronounced the same (\a.ʁɛt\), which is exactly why they get swapped in writing, but the dictionary meanings above are different, and pronunciation is no guide here.
Which is more common, "arrêtent" or "arrêtes"?
"arrêtent" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,275 in our French list, against #10,116 for "arrêtes". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering arrêtent vs arrêtes

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “arrêtent” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list