étendantvsétendentWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#17,050
“étendant” frequency rank
#17,601
“étendent” frequency rank
34651
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature étendant étendent
Definition Participe présent de étendre. Troisième personne du pluriel du présent de l’indicatif de étendre.

Where the spellings diverge

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

8 ch
étendant
8 ch
étendent

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. étendant (\e.tɑ̃.dɑ̃\) and étendent (\e.tɑ̃d\) 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 a single letter - a in “étendant” becomes e in “étendent”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 34651, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

étendant is recorded at frequency rank #17,050, classified as averb, pronounced \e.tɑ̃.dɑ̃\. étendent is at rank #17,601, tagged as averb, pronounced \e.tɑ̃d\.

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 34651, this pair ranks #282,342 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of étendant vs étendent

Shared letters: denté. Private to "étendant": a. Private to "étendent": -.

"étendant" · 8 letters · shape VCVCCVCC  ·  "étendent" · 8 letters · shape VCVCCVCC

Frequency comparison

étendant#17,050
étendent#17,601

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "étendant" and "étendent" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\e.tɑ̃.dɑ̃\ versus \e.tɑ̃d\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "étendant" or "étendent"?
"étendant" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #17,050 in our French list, against #17,601 for "étendent". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering étendant vs étendent

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 “étendant” 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