Which to use
“étonnent” and “étonner” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #26,590
- “étonnent” frequency rank
- #8,801
- “étonner” frequency rank
- 35391
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | étonnent | étonner |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Troisième personne du pluriel du présent de l’indicatif de étonner. | Ébranler à la manière du tonnerre. |
Where the eye mixes étonnent and étonner
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. étonnent runs 8 letters (VCVCCVCC) against étonner's 7 (VCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between étonnent and étonner
A purely visual mix-up. étonnent (\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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 35391, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
étonnent is recorded at frequency rank #26,590, 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 35391, this pair ranks #277,088 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of étonnent vs étonner
Shared letters: enoté. Private to "étonnent": -. Private to "étonner": r.
"étonnent" · 8 letters · shape VCVCCVCC · "étonner" · 7 letters · shape VCVCCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "étonnent" for "étonner" ever safe?
Which is more common, "étonnent" or "étonner"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "étonnent" and "étonner" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "étonnent" 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 #277,088 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "étonnent" and "étonner" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "étonnent vs étonnez". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #277,088 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.