étendentvsétonnentWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#17,601
“étendent” frequency rank
#26,590
“étonnent” frequency rank
44191
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature étendent étonnent
Definition Troisième personne du pluriel du présent de l’indicatif de étendre. Troisième personne du pluriel du présent de l’indicatif de étonner.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set étendent and étonnent apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
étendent
8 ch
étonnent

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. étendent (\e.tɑ̃d\) and étonnent (\e.tɔn\) 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 44191, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

étendent is recorded at frequency rank #17,601, classified as averb, pronounced \e.tɑ̃d\. étonnent is at rank #26,590, tagged as averb, pronounced \e.tɔn\.

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 44191, this pair ranks #212,351 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of étendent vs étonnent

Shared letters: enté. Private to "étendent": d. Private to "étonnent": o.

"étendent" · 8 letters · shape VCVCCVCC  ·  "étonnent" · 8 letters · shape VCVCCVCC

Frequency comparison

étendent#17,601
étonnent#26,590

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "étendent" and "étonnent" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\e.tɑ̃d\ versus \e.tɔn\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "étendent" or "étonnent"?
"étendent" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #17,601 in our French list, against #26,590 for "étonnent". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering étendent vs étonnent

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 “étendent” 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