Which to use
“tiens” is an intj and “tient” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,126
- “tiens” frequency rank
- #1,100
- “tient” frequency rank
- 2226
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | tiens | tient |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Marque l’étonnement, la surprise | Troisième personne du singulier de l’indicatif présent de tenir. |
Same sound, different letters: tiens vs tient
Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 4 letters.
Same sound, different spelling - tiens / tient
Say them out loud and nothing separates them: tiens and tient carry the same recorded pronunciation, \tjɛ̃\. Grammar is what tells them apart: one is anintj, the other averb, so most sentences will only accept one of them. They differ by a single letter - s in “tiens” becomes t in “tient”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 2226, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
tiens is recorded at frequency rank #1,126, classified as anintj, pronounced \tjɛ̃\. tient is at rank #1,100, tagged as averb, pronounced \tjɛ̃\.
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 2226, this pair ranks #436,551 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of tiens vs tient
Shared letters: eint. Private to "tiens": s. Private to "tient": -.
"tiens" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC · "tient" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "tiens" and "tient" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "tiens" vs "tient" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
"tiens" and "tient" share a sound, keep the gloss open, then jump to the headword or a nearby trap.
- Full dictionary entry for "tiens" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "tient" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #436,551 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "tiens" and "tient" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tient vs tinto". 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 #436,551 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.