Which to use
“inquiète” is a noun and “inquiètent” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #2,129
- “inquiète” frequency rank
- #16,653
- “inquiètent” frequency rank
- 18782
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | inquiète | inquiètent |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Personne inquiète. | Troisième personne du pluriel du présent de l’indicatif de inquiéter. |
Same sound, different letters: inquiète vs inquiètent
Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 8 letters. inquiète runs 8 letters (VCCVVVCV) against inquiètent's 10 (VCCVVVCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Ear matches; page differs - inquiète and inquiètent
Say them out loud and nothing separates them: inquiète and inquiètent carry the same recorded pronunciation, \ɛ̃.kjɛt\. Grammar is what tells them apart: one is anoun, the other averb, so most sentences will only accept one of them. They differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “inquiète” sits inside “inquiètent”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 18782, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
inquiète is recorded at frequency rank #2,129, classified as anoun, pronounced \ɛ̃.kjɛt\. 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 18782, this pair ranks #376,602 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of inquiète vs inquiètent
Shared letters: einqtuè. Private to "inquiète": -. Private to "inquiètent": -.
"inquiète" · 8 letters · shape VCCVVVCV · "inquiètent" · 10 letters · shape VCCVVVCVCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "inquiète" for "inquiètent" ever safe?
Frequency check: "inquiète" vs "inquiètent" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
You've separated the homophone pair "inquiète" / "inquiètent". Follow the links when you need the full entry or a neighbour that trips the same ear.
- Full dictionary entry for "inquiète" 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 #376,602 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "inquiète" and "inquiètent" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "inquiétaient vs inquiètent". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #376,602 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.