Which to use
“êtes” is a verb and “eus” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #362
- “êtes” frequency rank
- #13,591
- “eus” frequency rank
- 13953
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | êtes | eus |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Deuxième personne du pluriel de l’indicatif présent de être. | Pluriel de eu. |
Where the eye mixes êtes and eus
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses êtes with eus
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: êtes is \ɛt\ while eus is \ø\. 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 13953, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
êtes is recorded at frequency rank #362, classified as averb, pronounced \ɛt\. eus is at rank #13,591, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ø\.
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 13953, this pair ranks #398,816 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of êtes vs eus
Shared letters: es. Private to "êtes": tê. Private to "eus": u.
"êtes" · 4 letters · shape VCVC · "eus" · 3 letters · shape VVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "êtes" for "eus" ever safe?
Frequency check: "êtes" vs "eus" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "êtes" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "eus" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #398,816 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "êtes" and "eus" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "EPO vs eus". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #398,816 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.