étonnentvsétonneraWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#26,590
“étonnent” frequency rank
#32,251
“étonnera” frequency rank
58841
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature étonnent étonnera
Definition Troisième personne du pluriel du présent de l’indicatif de étonner. Troisième personne du singulier du futur de étonner.

Where the eye mixes étonnent and étonnera

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. étonnent (VCVCCVCC) and étonnera (VCVCCVCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

8 ch
étonnent
8 ch
étonnera

Visual trap between étonnent and étonnera

A purely visual mix-up. étonnent (\e.tɔn\) and étonnera (\e.tɔ.nə.ʁa\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 58841, 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\. étonnera is at rank #32,251, tagged as averb, pronounced \e.tɔ.nə.ʁa\.

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 58841, this pair ranks #106,573 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of étonnent vs étonnera

Shared letters: enoté. Private to "étonnent": -. Private to "étonnera": ar.

"étonnent" · 8 letters · shape VCVCCVCC  ·  "étonnera" · 8 letters · shape VCVCCVCV

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "étonnent" and "étonnera" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently (\e.tɔn\ versus \e.tɔ.nə.ʁa\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "étonnent" or "étonnera"?
"étonnent" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #26,590 in our French list, against #32,251 for "étonnera". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "étonnent" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "étonnera" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #106,573 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "étonnent" and "étonnera" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "étonnera vs étonnez". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #106,573 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list