Which to use
“entrèrent” and “entretient” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #41,274
- “entrèrent” frequency rank
- #8,108
- “entretient” frequency rank
- 49382
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | entrèrent | entretient |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Troisième personne du pluriel du passé simple de entrer. | Troisième personne du singulier de l’indicatif présent de entretenir. |
Where the eye mixes entrèrent and entretient
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. entrèrent runs 9 letters (VCCCVCVCC) against entretient's 10 (VCCCVCVVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: entrèrent vs entretient
A purely visual mix-up. entrèrent (\ɑ̃.tʁɛʁ\) and entretient (\ɑ̃.tʁə.tjɛ̃\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49382, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
entrèrent is recorded at frequency rank #41,274, classified as averb, pronounced \ɑ̃.tʁɛʁ\. entretient is at rank #8,108, tagged as averb, pronounced \ɑ̃.tʁə.tjɛ̃\.
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 49382, this pair ranks #171,159 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of entrèrent vs entretient
Shared letters: enrt. Private to "entrèrent": è. Private to "entretient": i.
"entrèrent" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVCVCC · "entretient" · 10 letters · shape VCCCVCVVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- entretient ← enntretient · enrtetient · entertient · entreitent · entreteint · entretiennt · entretientt · entretietn
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "entrèrent" and "entretient" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "entrèrent" or "entretient"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "entrèrent" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "entretient" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #171,159 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "entrèrent" and "entretient" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "entrerait vs entrèrent". 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 #171,159 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.