Which to use
“inquiètent” and “inquiéter” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #16,653
- “inquiètent” frequency rank
- #6,516
- “inquiéter” frequency rank
- 23169
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | inquiètent | inquiéter |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Troisième personne du pluriel du présent de l’indicatif de inquiéter. | Rendre inquiet. |
Where the eye mixes inquiètent and inquiéter
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. inquiètent runs 10 letters (VCCVVVCVCC) against inquiéter's 9 (VCCVVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: inquiètent vs inquiéter
A purely visual mix-up. inquiètent (\ɛ̃.kjɛt\) and inquiéter (\ɛ̃.kje.te\) 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 23169, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
inquiètent is recorded at frequency rank #16,653, classified as averb, pronounced \ɛ̃.kjɛt\. inquiéter is at rank #6,516, tagged as averb, pronounced \ɛ̃.kje.te\.
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 23169, this pair ranks #353,980 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of inquiètent vs inquiéter
Shared letters: einqtu. Private to "inquiètent": è. Private to "inquiéter": ré.
"inquiètent" · 10 letters · shape VCCVVVCVCC · "inquiéter" · 9 letters · shape VCCVVVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "inquiètent" for "inquiéter" ever safe?
In ordinary French text, does "inquiètent" or "inquiéter" show up more?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "inquiètent" and "inquiéter" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "inquiètent" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "inquiéter" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #353,980 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "inquiètent" and "inquiéter" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "inquiétaient vs inquiètent". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #353,980 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.