ébranlevsébranlerConfusable pair

Which to use

“ébranle” and “ébranler” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#43,220
“ébranle” frequency rank
#33,084
“ébranler” frequency rank
76304
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ébranle ébranler
Definition Première personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de ébranler. Amener par des secousses une chose à ne plus être dans sa position habituelle.

Where the eye mixes ébranle and ébranler

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. ébranle runs 7 letters (VCCVCCV) against ébranler's 8 (VCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
ébranle
8 ch
ébranler

Look-alike desk: ébranle vs ébranler

A purely visual mix-up. ébranle (\e.bʁɑ̃l\) and ébranler (\e.bʁɑ̃.le\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “ébranle” sits inside “ébranler”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 76304, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ébranle is recorded at frequency rank #43,220, classified as averb, pronounced \e.bʁɑ̃l\. ébranler is at rank #33,084, tagged as averb, pronounced \e.bʁɑ̃.le\.

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 76304, this pair ranks #31,508 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of ébranle vs ébranler

Shared letters: abelnré. Private to "ébranle": -. Private to "ébranler": -.

"ébranle" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCV  ·  "ébranler" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "ébranle" and "ébranler" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently (\e.bʁɑ̃l\ versus \e.bʁɑ̃.le\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "ébranle" or "ébranler"?
"ébranler" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #33,084 in our French list, against #43,220 for "ébranle". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "ébranle" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "ébranler" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #31,508 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "ébranle" and "ébranler" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ébranle vs ébranlée". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #31,508 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list