Which to use
“enquêtent” is a verb and “enquêtes” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #33,244
- “enquêtent” frequency rank
- #4,937
- “enquêtes” frequency rank
- 38181
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | enquêtent | enquêtes |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Troisième personne du pluriel du présent de l’indicatif de enquêter. | Pluriel de enquête. |
Same sound, different letters: enquêtent vs enquêtes
Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 7 letters. enquêtent runs 9 letters (VCCVVCVCC) against enquêtes's 8 (VCCVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Same sound, different spelling - enquêtent / enquêtes
Say them out loud and nothing separates them: enquêtent and enquêtes carry the same recorded pronunciation, \ɑ̃.kɛt\. Grammar is what tells them apart: one is averb, the other anoun, so most sentences will only accept one of them. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38181, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
enquêtent is recorded at frequency rank #33,244, classified as averb, pronounced \ɑ̃.kɛt\. enquêtes is at rank #4,937, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ɑ̃.kɛt\.
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 38181, this pair ranks #257,088 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of enquêtent vs enquêtes
Shared letters: enqtuê. Private to "enquêtent": -. Private to "enquêtes": s.
"enquêtent" · 9 letters · shape VCCVVCVCC · "enquêtes" · 8 letters · shape VCCVVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "enquêtent" for "enquêtes" ever safe?
Frequency check: "enquêtent" vs "enquêtes" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
You've separated the homophone pair "enquêtent" / "enquêtes". Follow the links when you need the full entry or a neighbour that trips the same ear.
- Full dictionary entry for "enquêtent" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "enquêtes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #257,088 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "enquêtent" and "enquêtes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "enquêtent vs enquêteur". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #257,088 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.