éditionsvsétionsWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: éditions is a noun, étions is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“éditions” is a noun and “étions” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#3,176
“éditions” frequency rank
#3,507
“étions” frequency rank
6683
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature éditions étions
Definition Pluriel de édition. Première personne du pluriel de l’imparfait de être.

Where the spellings diverge

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

8 ch
éditions
6 ch
étions

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: éditions is \e.di.sjɔ̃\ while étions is \e.tjɔ̃\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 6683, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

éditions is recorded at frequency rank #3,176, classified as anoun, pronounced \e.di.sjɔ̃\. étions is at rank #3,507, tagged as averb, pronounced \e.tjɔ̃\.

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 6683, this pair ranks #425,542 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of éditions vs étions

Shared letters: inosté. Private to "éditions": d. Private to "étions": -.

"éditions" · 8 letters · shape VCVCVVCC  ·  "étions" · 6 letters · shape VCVVCC

Frequency comparison

éditions#3,176
étions#3,507

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "éditions" and "étions" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "éditions" is a noun and "étions" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "éditions" or "étions"?
"éditions" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,176 in our French list, against #3,507 for "étions". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering éditions vs étions

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “éditions”; for a verb, it's “étions”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “éditions” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list