Which to use
“étonnes” and “étonnez” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #17,051
- “étonnes” frequency rank
- #41,614
- “étonnez” frequency rank
- 58665
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | étonnes | étonnez |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Deuxième personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de étonner. | Deuxième personne du pluriel du présent de l’indicatif de étonner. |
Where the eye mixes étonnes and étonnez
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. étonnes and étonnez follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses étonnes with étonnez
A purely visual mix-up. étonnes (\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 a single letter - s in “étonnes” becomes z in “étonnez”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 58665, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
étonnes is recorded at frequency rank #17,051, 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 58665, this pair ranks #107,683 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of étonnes vs étonnez
Shared letters: enoté. Private to "étonnes": s. Private to "étonnez": z.
"étonnes" · 7 letters · shape VCVCCVC · "étonnez" · 7 letters · shape VCVCCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "étonnes" for "étonnez" ever safe?
Frequency check: "étonnes" vs "étonnez" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "étonnes" 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 #107,683 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "étonnes" and "étonnez" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "étonnera vs étonnez". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #107,683 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.