Which to use
“étaient” and “étalant” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #238
- “étaient” frequency rank
- #38,117
- “étalant” frequency rank
- 38355
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | étaient | étalant |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Troisième personne du pluriel de l’imparfait de être. | Participe présent de étaler. |
Where the eye mixes étaient and étalant
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. étaient (VCVVVCC) and étalant (VCVCVCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between étaient and étalant
A purely visual mix-up. étaient (\e.tɛ\) and étalant (\e.ta.lɑ̃\) 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 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38355, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
étaient is recorded at frequency rank #238, classified as averb, pronounced \e.tɛ\. étalant is at rank #38,117, tagged as averb, pronounced \e.ta.lɑ̃\.
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 38355, this pair ranks #255,814 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of étaient vs étalant
Shared letters: anté. Private to "étaient": ei. Private to "étalant": l.
"étaient" · 7 letters · shape VCVVVCC · "étalant" · 7 letters · shape VCVCVCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "étaient" and "étalant" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "étaient" or "étalant"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "étaient" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "étalant" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #255,814 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "étaient" and "étalant" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "épatant vs étalant". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #255,814 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.