étonnent vs étonnes, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#26,590
“étonnent” frequency rank: #17,051
“étonnes” frequency rank: 43641
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	étonnent	étonnes
Definition	Troisième personne du pluriel du présent de l’indicatif de étonner.	Deuxième personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de étonner.

Where the spellings diverge

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

8 ch

étonnent

7 ch

étonnes

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

This is the hard kind. étonnent and étonnes are pronounced identically (\e.tɔn\) and both work as averb. Neither the ear nor the grammar will rescue you; only the meaning does, so the glosses below are the whole decision. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 43641, 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\. étonnes is at rank #17,051, tagged as averb, pronounced \e.tɔn\.

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 43641, this pair ranks #216,495 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of étonnent vs étonnes

Shared letters: enoté. Private to "étonnent": -. Private to "étonnes": s.

"étonnent" · 8 letters · shape VCVCCVCC · "étonnes" · 7 letters · shape VCVCCVC

Frequency comparison

étonnent#26,590

étonnes#17,051

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "étonnent" and "étonnes" be used interchangeably?

No. They are pronounced the same (\e.tɔn\), which is exactly why they get swapped in writing, but the dictionary meanings above are different, and pronunciation is no guide here.

Which is more common, "étonnent" or "étonnes"?

"étonnes" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #17,051 in our French list, against #26,590 for "étonnent". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering étonnent vs étonnes

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 “étonnent” entry
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