Which to use
“fêtait” and “fêtent” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #39,313
- “fêtait” frequency rank
- #31,045
- “fêtent” frequency rank
- 70358
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fêtait | fêtent |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Troisième personne du singulier de l’imparfait de l’indicatif de fêter. | Troisième personne du pluriel du présent de l’indicatif de fêter. |
Where the eye mixes fêtait and fêtent
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. fêtait (CVCVVC) and fêtent (CVCVCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between fêtait and fêtent
A purely visual mix-up. fêtait (\fe.tɛ\) and fêtent (\fɛt\) 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 70358, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
fêtait is recorded at frequency rank #39,313, classified as averb, pronounced \fe.tɛ\. fêtent is at rank #31,045, tagged as averb, pronounced \fɛt\.
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 70358, this pair ranks #51,599 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of fêtait vs fêtent
Shared letters: ftê. Private to "fêtait": ai. Private to "fêtent": en.
"fêtait" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC · "fêtent" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "fêtait" for "fêtent" ever safe?
Which is more common, "fêtait" or "fêtent"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "fêtait" and "fêtent" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "fêtait" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "fêtent" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #51,599 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fêtait" and "fêtent" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fêtait vs fuyait". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #51,599 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.