Which to use
“entendre” and “éteindre” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #872
- “entendre” frequency rank
- #7,020
- “éteindre” frequency rank
- 7892
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | entendre | éteindre |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Percevoir un son. | Cesser l’ignition d’une chose. |
Where the eye mixes entendre and éteindre
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. entendre (VCCVCCCV) and éteindre (VCVVCCCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: entendre vs éteindre
A purely visual mix-up. entendre (\ɑ̃.tɑ̃dʁ\) and éteindre (\e.tɛ̃dʁ\) 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 4 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 7892, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
entendre is recorded at frequency rank #872, classified as averb, pronounced \ɑ̃.tɑ̃dʁ\. éteindre is at rank #7,020, tagged as averb, pronounced \e.tɛ̃dʁ\.
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 7892, this pair ranks #421,809 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of entendre vs éteindre
Shared letters: denrt. Private to "entendre": -. Private to "éteindre": ié.
"entendre" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCCV · "éteindre" · 8 letters · shape VCVVCCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- entendre ← enetndre · enntendre · entednre · entenddre · entender · entendrre · entenndre · entenrde
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "entendre" and "éteindre" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "entendre" vs "éteindre" - which ranks higher?
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 "entendre" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "éteindre" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #421,809 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "entendre" and "éteindre" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "éteindra vs éteindre". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #421,809 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.