Which to use
“êtes” is a verb and “étuis” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #362
- “êtes” frequency rank
- #47,703
- “étuis” frequency rank
- 48065
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | êtes | étuis |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Deuxième personne du pluriel de l’indicatif présent de être. | Pluriel de étui. |
Where the eye mixes êtes and étuis
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. êtes runs 4 letters (VCVC) against étuis's 5 (VCVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses êtes with étuis
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: êtes is \ɛt\ while étuis is \e.tɥi\. 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 48065, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
êtes is recorded at frequency rank #362, classified as averb, pronounced \ɛt\. étuis is at rank #47,703, tagged as anoun, pronounced \e.tɥi\.
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 48065, this pair ranks #181,938 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of êtes vs étuis
Shared letters: st. Private to "êtes": eê. Private to "étuis": iué.
"êtes" · 4 letters · shape VCVC · "étuis" · 5 letters · shape VCVVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "êtes" for "étuis" ever safe?
Which is more common, "êtes" or "étuis"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "êtes" and "étuis" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "êtes" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "étuis" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #181,938 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "êtes" and "étuis" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "étai vs étuis". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #181,938 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.