Which to use
“inquiéter” is a verb and “inquiets” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #6,516
- “inquiéter” frequency rank
- #14,707
- “inquiets” frequency rank
- 21223
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | inquiéter | inquiets |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Rendre inquiet. | Masculin pluriel de inquiet. |
Where the eye mixes inquiéter and inquiets
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. inquiéter runs 9 letters (VCCVVVCVC) against inquiets's 8 (VCCVVVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses inquiéter with inquiets
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: inquiéter is \ɛ̃.kje.te\ while inquiets is \ɛ̃.kjɛ\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 21223, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
inquiéter is recorded at frequency rank #6,516, classified as averb, pronounced \ɛ̃.kje.te\. inquiets is at rank #14,707, tagged as anadj, pronounced \ɛ̃.kjɛ\.
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 21223, this pair ranks #364,275 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of inquiéter vs inquiets
Shared letters: einqtu. Private to "inquiéter": ré. Private to "inquiets": s.
"inquiéter" · 9 letters · shape VCCVVVCVC · "inquiets" · 8 letters · shape VCCVVVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- inquiets ← innquiets · inqiuets · inqquiets · inqueits · inquiest · inquietss · inquietts · inquites
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "inquiéter" for "inquiets" ever safe?
In ordinary French text, does "inquiéter" or "inquiets" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "inquiéter" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "inquiets" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #364,275 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "inquiéter" and "inquiets" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "inquiétée vs inquiets". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #364,275 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.