Which to use
“éteindre” and “étendre” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #7,020
- “éteindre” frequency rank
- #5,515
- “étendre” frequency rank
- 12535
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | éteindre | étendre |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Cesser l’ignition d’une chose. | Faire qu’une chose acquière plus de surface ou plus de volume, soit en la rendant plus mince, soit en la tirant ou en la dilatant. |
Where the eye mixes éteindre and étendre
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. éteindre runs 8 letters (VCVVCCCV) against étendre's 7 (VCVCCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses éteindre with étendre
A purely visual mix-up. éteindre (\e.tɛ̃dʁ\) and étendre (\e.tɑ̃dʁ\) 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 12535, 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\. étendre is at rank #5,515, tagged as averb, pronounced \e.tɑ̃dʁ\.
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 12535, this pair ranks #404,851 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of éteindre vs étendre
Shared letters: denrté. Private to "éteindre": i. Private to "étendre": -.
"éteindre" · 8 letters · shape VCVVCCCV · "étendre" · 7 letters · shape VCVCCCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "éteindre" for "étendre" ever safe?
In ordinary French text, does "éteindre" or "étendre" show up more?
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 "étendre" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #404,851 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "éteindre" and "étendre" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "éteindra vs éteindre". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #404,851 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.