Which to use
“hêtres” and “hôtes” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #46,222
- “hêtres” frequency rank
- #8,560
- “hôtes” frequency rank
- 54782
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | hêtres | hôtes |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de hêtre. | Pluriel de hôte. |
Where the eye mixes hêtres and hôtes
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. hêtres runs 6 letters (CVCCVC) against hôtes's 5 (CVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: hêtres vs hôtes
A purely visual mix-up. hêtres (^((h aspiré))\ɛtʁ\) and hôtes (^((h muet))\ot\) 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 54782, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
hêtres is recorded at frequency rank #46,222, classified as anoun, pronounced ^((h aspiré))\ɛtʁ\. hôtes is at rank #8,560, tagged as anoun, pronounced ^((h muet))\ot\.
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 54782, this pair ranks #131,709 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of hêtres vs hôtes
Shared letters: ehst. Private to "hêtres": rê. Private to "hôtes": ô.
"hêtres" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "hôtes" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "hêtres" for "hôtes" ever safe?
Which is more common, "hêtres" or "hôtes"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "hêtres" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "hôtes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #131,709 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "hêtres" and "hôtes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "hêtres vs huttes". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #131,709 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.