Which to use
“éteindre” is a verb and “éteinte” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #7,020
- “éteindre” frequency rank
- #14,395
- “éteinte” frequency rank
- 21415
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | éteindre | éteinte |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Cesser l’ignition d’une chose. | Moment où une bougie arrête de se consumer. |
Where the eye mixes éteindre and éteinte
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. éteindre runs 8 letters (VCVVCCCV) against éteinte's 7 (VCVVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: éteindre vs éteinte
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: éteindre is \e.tɛ̃dʁ\ while éteinte is \e.tɛ̃t\. 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 (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 21415, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
éteindre is recorded at frequency rank #7,020, classified as averb, pronounced \e.tɛ̃dʁ\. éteinte is at rank #14,395, tagged as anoun, pronounced \e.tɛ̃t\.
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 21415, this pair ranks #363,273 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of éteindre vs éteinte
Shared letters: einté. Private to "éteindre": dr. Private to "éteinte": -.
"éteindre" · 8 letters · shape VCVVCCCV · "éteinte" · 7 letters · shape VCVVCCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "éteindre" for "éteinte" ever safe?
Frequency check: "éteindre" vs "éteinte" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "éteindre" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "éteinte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #363,273 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "éteindre" and "éteinte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "éteindra vs éteindre". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #363,273 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.