enquêtentvsenquêtesWhat's the difference?

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

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.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set enquêtent and enquêtes apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

9 ch
enquêtent
8 ch
enquêtes

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

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

Frequency comparison

enquêtent#33,244
enquêtes#4,937

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "enquêtent" and "enquêtes" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "enquêtent" is a verb and "enquêtes" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "enquêtent" or "enquêtes"?
"enquêtes" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,937 in our French list, against #33,244 for "enquêtent". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering enquêtent vs enquêtes

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “enquêtent”; for a noun, it's “enquêtes”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “enquêtent” 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