éteignentvséteignezWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“éteignent” and “éteignez” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#33,946
“éteignent” frequency rank
#45,970
“éteignez” frequency rank
79916
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature éteignent éteignez
Definition Troisième personne du pluriel du présent de l’indicatif de éteindre. Deuxième personne du pluriel de l’indicatif présent de éteindre.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set éteignent and éteignez apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

9 ch
éteignent
8 ch
éteignez

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. éteignent (\e.tɛɲ\) and éteignez (\e.tɛ.ɲe\) 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 79916, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

éteignent is recorded at frequency rank #33,946, classified as averb, pronounced \e.tɛɲ\. éteignez is at rank #45,970, tagged as averb, pronounced \e.tɛ.ɲe\.

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 79916, this pair ranks #22,155 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of éteignent vs éteignez

Shared letters: eginté. Private to "éteignent": -. Private to "éteignez": z.

"éteignent" · 9 letters · shape VCVVCCVCC  ·  "éteignez" · 8 letters · shape VCVVCCVC

Frequency comparison

éteignent#33,946
éteignez#45,970

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "éteignent" and "éteignez" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\e.tɛɲ\ versus \e.tɛ.ɲe\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "éteignent" or "éteignez"?
"éteignent" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #33,946 in our French list, against #45,970 for "éteignez". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering éteignent vs éteignez

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 “éteignent” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list