tentonsvstontonsWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: tentons is a verb, tontons is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“tentons” is a verb and “tontons” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#32,213
“tentons” frequency rank
#37,583
“tontons” frequency rank
69796
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature tentons tontons
Definition Première personne du pluriel du présent de l’indicatif de tenter. Pluriel de tonton.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set tentons and tontons apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
tentons
7 ch
tontons

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: tentons is \tɑ̃.tɔ̃\ while tontons is \tɔ̃.tɔ̃\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - e in “tentons” becomes o in “tontons”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 69796, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

tentons is recorded at frequency rank #32,213, classified as averb, pronounced \tɑ̃.tɔ̃\. tontons is at rank #37,583, tagged as anoun, pronounced \tɔ̃.tɔ̃\.

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 69796, this pair ranks #53,792 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of tentons vs tontons

Shared letters: nost. Private to "tentons": e. Private to "tontons": -.

"tentons" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC  ·  "tontons" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • tentonsetntons · tenntons · tenotns · tentnos · tentonns · tentonss · tentosn · tenttons
  • tontonsotntons · tnotons · tonntons · tonotns · tontnos · tontonns · tontonss · tontosn

Frequency comparison

tentons#32,213
tontons#37,583

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "tentons" and "tontons" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "tentons" is a verb and "tontons" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "tentons" or "tontons"?
"tentons" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #32,213 in our French list, against #37,583 for "tontons". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering tentons vs tontons

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “tentons”; for a noun, it's “tontons”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “tentons” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list