Which to use
“étonnée” is an adjective and “étonner” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #17,603
- “étonnée” frequency rank
- #8,801
- “étonner” frequency rank
- 26404
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | étonnée | étonner |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Féminin singulier de étonné. | Ébranler à la manière du tonnerre. |
Same sound, different letters: étonnée vs étonner
Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 6 letters. étonnée (VCVCCVV) and étonner (VCVCCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Homophone desk: étonnée vs étonner
Say them out loud and nothing separates them: étonnée and étonner carry the same recorded pronunciation, \e.tɔ.ne\. Grammar is what tells them apart: one is anadjective, the other averb, so most sentences will only accept one of them. They share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 26404, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
étonnée is recorded at frequency rank #17,603, classified as anadj, pronounced \e.tɔ.ne\. 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 26404, this pair ranks #335,212 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of étonnée vs étonner
Shared letters: enoté. Private to "étonnée": -. Private to "étonner": r.
"étonnée" · 7 letters · shape VCVCCVV · "étonner" · 7 letters · shape VCVCCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "étonnée" and "étonner" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary French text, does "étonnée" or "étonner" show up more?
Useful next steps
You've separated the homophone pair "étonnée" / "étonner". Follow the links when you need the full entry or a neighbour that trips the same ear.
- Full dictionary entry for "étonnée" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "étonner" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #335,212 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "étonnée" and "étonner" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "énoncée vs étonnée". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #335,212 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.