étaient vs étalant, What's the Difference?

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 spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set étaient and étalant apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch

étaient

7 ch

étalant

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

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

Frequency comparison

étaient#238

étalant#38,117

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "étaient" and "étalant" be used interchangeably?

No. They are said differently (\e.tɛ\ versus \e.ta.lɑ̃\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.

Which is more common, "étaient" or "étalant"?

"étaient" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #238 in our French list, against #38,117 for "étalant". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering étaient vs étalant

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “étaient” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable