écaille

\e.kaj\

/\e.kaj\/ noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“écaille” has 8 generated spelling variants in the French index at frequency #37,611. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#37,611
frequency rank, French
40,273
“É” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
4
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Petites lames minces et plates qui couvrent la peau de certains poissons et de certains reptiles.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

écaille vs échelle
71% similar
écaille vs éveillé
57% similar
écaille vs entaille
63% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for écaille
PropertyValue
Headwordécaille
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\e.kaj\
Letters7
Frequency rank#37,611
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs4
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “écaille” sits in French frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). écaille lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around écaille (IPA \e.kaj\), anoun. Corpus frequency is #37,611 among 40,273 “É” headwords. Wiktionary lists 13 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for écaille, with forms such as "céaille", "ecaille", and "éacille". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 4 confusable-pair relationships, "échelle", "éveillé", "entaille", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

This entry's etymology isn't recorded, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct French form is écaille, spelled É-C-A-I-L-L-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Petites lames minces et plates qui couvrent la peau de certains poissons et de certains reptiles.
  2. 2
    Enveloppe dure et calcaire qui couvre et protège le corps des mollusques bivalves, notamment les huîtres.
  3. 3
    Nom vernaculaire de plusieurs espèces de lépidoptères de la famille des arctidés (Arctiidae).
  4. 4
    Enveloppe dure qui couvre le dos de la tortue et dont on faisait de petits objets précieux.
  5. 5
    Lamelle microscopique qui couvre les poils et les cheveux.
  6. 6
    Partie des os du crâne formant la cavité crânienne.
  7. 7
    Productions plates et plus ou moins sèches, qui composent ou accompagnent certaines parties des végétaux.
  8. 8
    Lamelles minces et légères qui se détachent de la peau dans certaines affections cutanées.
  9. 9
    Nom des ardoises étroites et arrondies dans le bout de la partie visible servant à la couverture des dômes.
  10. 10
    Croûte qui se produit sur le fer trop chauffé.
  11. 11
    Plaque de cuivre utilisée par les émailleurs pour faire du Bleu de Turquie.
  12. 12
    Teinture rouge que les relieurs utilisent pour colorer la tranche des livres.
  13. 13
    Écaille de mer : Pierre très dure que l’on utilise pour broyer les pigments.

Synonyms

partie squameuse

This word in other languages

scale(English)escama(Español)Schuppe(Deutsch)escama(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • céaille
  • ecaille
  • éacille
  • écaile
  • écailel
  • écalile
  • éccaille
  • écialle

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of écaille - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

céaille2ecaille1éacille2écaile1écailel2écalile2éccaille1écialle2
Edit distance from "écaille"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 French corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "écaille"?
"écaille" is spelled É-C-A-I-L-L-E. The IPA pronunciation is \e.kaj\.
What does "écaille" mean?
As a noun, "écaille" means: Petites lames minces et plates qui couvrent la peau de certains poissons et de certains reptiles.
What words are commonly confused with "écaille"?
"écaille" is commonly confused with "échelle", "éveillé", "entaille". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "écaille"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "écaille" is \e.kaj\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "écaille" come from?
"écaille" is a French word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “écaille”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct French spelling is É-C-A-I-L-L-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \e.kaj\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “échelle” - see the side-by-side comparison. écaille vs échelle
  • Browse more French words and confusable pairs in the same reference. French words

Same frequency band

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list