Which to use
“éteins” and “étions” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #29,615
- “éteins” frequency rank
- #3,507
- “étions” frequency rank
- 33122
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | éteins | étions |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Première personne du singulier de l’indicatif présent de éteindre. | Première personne du pluriel de l’imparfait de être. |
Where the eye mixes éteins and étions
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. éteins and étions follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCVVCC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between éteins and étions
A purely visual mix-up. éteins (\e.tɛ̃\) and étions (\e.tjɔ̃\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 33122, 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\. étions is at rank #3,507, tagged as averb, pronounced \e.tjɔ̃\.
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 33122, this pair ranks #292,705 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of éteins vs étions
Shared letters: insté. Private to "éteins": e. Private to "étions": o.
"éteins" · 6 letters · shape VCVVCC · "étions" · 6 letters · shape VCVVCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "éteins" and "étions" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "éteins" vs "étions" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "éteins" and "étions" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "éteins" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "étions" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #292,705 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "éteins" and "étions" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "éteins vs étuis". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #292,705 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.