Which to use
“inquiétaient” and “inquiètent” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #49,726
- “inquiétaient” frequency rank
- #16,653
- “inquiètent” frequency rank
- 66379
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | inquiétaient | inquiètent |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Troisième personne du pluriel de l’imparfait de l’indicatif de inquiéter. | Troisième personne du pluriel du présent de l’indicatif de inquiéter. |
Where the eye mixes inquiétaient and inquiètent
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. inquiétaient runs 12 letters (VCCVVVCVVVCC) against inquiètent's 10 (VCCVVVCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: inquiétaient vs inquiètent
A purely visual mix-up. inquiétaient (\ɛ̃.kje.tɛ\) and inquiètent (\ɛ̃.kjɛt\) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 66379, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
inquiétaient is recorded at frequency rank #49,726, classified as averb, pronounced \ɛ̃.kje.tɛ\. inquiètent is at rank #16,653, tagged as averb, pronounced \ɛ̃.kjɛt\.
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 66379, this pair ranks #68,080 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of inquiétaient vs inquiètent
Shared letters: einqtu. Private to "inquiétaient": aé. Private to "inquiètent": è.
"inquiétaient" · 12 letters · shape VCCVVVCVVVCC · "inquiètent" · 10 letters · shape VCCVVVCVCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "inquiétaient" for "inquiètent" ever safe?
In ordinary French text, does "inquiétaient" or "inquiètent" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "inquiétaient" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "inquiètent" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #68,080 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "inquiétaient" and "inquiètent" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "inquiétaient vs inquiétait". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #68,080 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.