éteinsvséteinteWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: éteins is a verb, éteinte is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“éteins” is a verb and “éteinte” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#29,615
“éteins” frequency rank
#14,395
“éteinte” frequency rank
44010
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature éteins éteinte
Definition Première personne du singulier de l’indicatif présent de éteindre. Moment où une bougie arrête de se consumer.

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch
éteins
7 ch
éteinte

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: éteins is \e.tɛ̃\ 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 44010, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

éteins is recorded at frequency rank #29,615, classified as averb, pronounced \e.tɛ̃\. 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 44010, this pair ranks #213,751 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of éteins vs éteinte

Shared letters: einté. Private to "éteins": s. Private to "éteinte": -.

"éteins" · 6 letters · shape VCVVCC  ·  "éteinte" · 7 letters · shape VCVVCCV

Frequency comparison

éteins#29,615
éteinte#14,395

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "éteins" and "éteinte" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "éteins" is a verb and "éteinte" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "éteins" or "éteinte"?
"éteinte" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #14,395 in our French list, against #29,615 for "éteins". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering éteins vs éteinte

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “éteins”; for a noun, it's “éteinte”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “éteins” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list