étonnevsétonnerWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#5,208
“étonne” frequency rank
#8,801
“étonner” frequency rank
14009
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature étonne étonner
Definition Première personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de étonner. Ébranler à la manière du tonnerre.

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch
étonne
7 ch
étonner

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. étonne (\e.tɔn\) and étonner (\e.tɔ.ne\) 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 1 extra letter(s) - “étonne” sits inside “étonner”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14009, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

étonne is recorded at frequency rank #5,208, classified as averb, pronounced \e.tɔn\. étonner is at rank #8,801, tagged as averb, pronounced \e.tɔ.ne\.

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 14009, this pair ranks #398,590 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of étonne vs étonner

Shared letters: enoté. Private to "étonne": -. Private to "étonner": r.

"étonne" · 6 letters · shape VCVCCV  ·  "étonner" · 7 letters · shape VCVCCVC

Frequency comparison

étonne#5,208
étonner#8,801

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "étonne" and "étonner" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\e.tɔn\ versus \e.tɔ.ne\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "étonne" or "étonner"?
"étonne" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,208 in our French list, against #8,801 for "étonner". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering étonne vs étonner

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 “étonne” 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