Which to use
“étendre” is a verb and “étendues” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #5,515
- “étendre” frequency rank
- #15,550
- “étendues” frequency rank
- 21065
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | étendre | étendues |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 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. | Féminin pluriel de étendu. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set étendre and étendues apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: étendre is \e.tɑ̃dʁ\ while étendues is \e.tɑ̃.dy\. 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 adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 21065, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
étendre is recorded at frequency rank #5,515, classified as averb, pronounced \e.tɑ̃dʁ\. étendues is at rank #15,550, tagged as anadj, pronounced \e.tɑ̃.dy\.
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 21065, this pair ranks #365,033 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of étendre vs étendues
Shared letters: denté. Private to "étendre": r. Private to "étendues": su.
"étendre" · 7 letters · shape VCVCCCV · "étendues" · 8 letters · shape VCVCCVVC
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "étendre" and "étendues" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "étendre" or "étendues"?
Remembering étendre vs étendues
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “étendre”; for an adjective, it's “étendues”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “étendre” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable