Which to use
“été” is a noun and “eut” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #65
- “été” frequency rank
- #2,421
- “eut” frequency rank
- 2486
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | été | eut |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 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. | Troisième personne du singulier du passé simple du verbe avoir. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set été and eut apart are highlighted. They share 1 letter in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: été is \e.te\ while eut is \y\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 2486, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
été is recorded at frequency rank #65, classified as anoun, pronounced \e.te\. eut is at rank #2,421, tagged as averb, pronounced \y\.
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 2486, this pair ranks #436,048 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of été vs eut
Shared letters: t. Private to "été": é. Private to "eut": eu.
"été" · 3 letters · shape VCV · "eut" · 3 letters · shape VVC
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "été" and "eut" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "été" or "eut"?
Remembering été vs eut
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “été”; for a verb, it's “eut”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “été” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable