Which to use
“este” is an adjective and “été” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #26,357
- “este” frequency rank
- #65
- “été” frequency rank
- 26422
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | este | été |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Estonien. | La plus chaude des quatre saisons de l’année. Dans l’hémisphère nord, l’été astronomique s’étend du 7 mai au 7 août, le solstice d’été représentant le milieu de l’été. L’été météorologique, qui comprend les mois les plus chauds de l’année, comprend les mois de juin, juillet et août. L’été calendaire français, enfin, s’étend du 21 juin (solstice d’été) au 22 septembre (équinoxe d’automne). Dans l’hémisphère sud, ce découpage correspond à la saison d’hiver. |
Where the eye mixes este and été
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Why the eye confuses este with été
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: este is \ɛst\ while été is \e.te\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 26422, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
este is recorded at frequency rank #26,357, classified as anadj, pronounced \ɛst\. été is at rank #65, tagged as anoun, pronounced \e.te\.
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 26422, this pair ranks #335,108 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of este vs été
Shared letters: t. Private to "este": es. Private to "été": é.
"este" · 4 letters · shape VCCV · "été" · 3 letters · shape VCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- este ← eset · esste · estte · etse · sete
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "este" and "été" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "este" or "été"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "este" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "été" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #335,108 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "este" and "été" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Easter vs este". 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 #335,108 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.