Which to use
“étonnent” and “étonnez” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #26,590
- “étonnent” frequency rank
- #41,614
- “étonnez” frequency rank
- 68204
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | étonnent | étonnez |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Troisième personne du pluriel du présent de l’indicatif de étonner. | Deuxième personne du pluriel du présent de l’indicatif de étonner. |
Where the eye mixes étonnent and étonnez
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. étonnent runs 8 letters (VCVCCVCC) against étonnez's 7 (VCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses étonnent with étonnez
A purely visual mix-up. étonnent (\e.tɔn\) and étonnez (\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 68204, 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\. étonnez is at rank #41,614, 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 68204, this pair ranks #60,121 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of étonnent vs étonnez
Shared letters: enoté. Private to "étonnent": -. Private to "étonnez": z.
"étonnent" · 8 letters · shape VCVCCVCC · "étonnez" · 7 letters · shape VCVCCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "étonnent" and "étonnez" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary French text, does "étonnent" or "étonnez" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "étonnent" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "étonnez" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #60,121 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "étonnent" and "étonnez" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "étonnera vs étonnez". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #60,121 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.