Which to use
“tests” and “têtes” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,968
- “tests” frequency rank
- #3,048
- “têtes” frequency rank
- 6016
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | tests | têtes |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de test. | Pluriel de tête. |
Where the eye mixes tests and têtes
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses tests with têtes
A purely visual mix-up. tests (\tɛst\) and têtes (\tɛːt\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 6016, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
tests is recorded at frequency rank #2,968, classified as anoun, pronounced \tɛst\. têtes is at rank #3,048, tagged as anoun, pronounced \tɛːt\.
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 6016, this pair ranks #427,414 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of tests vs têtes
Shared letters: est. Private to "tests": -. Private to "têtes": ê.
"tests" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC · "têtes" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- tests ← etsts · tessts · testss · testts · tetss · tsets · ttests
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "tests" and "têtes" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary French text, does "tests" or "têtes" show up more?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "tests" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "têtes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #427,414 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "tests" and "têtes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "terms vs têtes". 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 #427,414 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.