Which to use
“ébranler” and “étrangler” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #33,084
- “ébranler” frequency rank
- #23,084
- “étrangler” frequency rank
- 56168
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ébranler | étrangler |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Amener par des secousses une chose à ne plus être dans sa position habituelle. | Serrer à la gorge de manière à faire perdre la respiration ou même la vie. |
Where the eye mixes ébranler and étrangler
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. ébranler runs 8 letters (VCCVCCVC) against étrangler's 9 (VCCVCCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses ébranler with étrangler
A purely visual mix-up. ébranler (\e.bʁɑ̃.le\) and étrangler (\e.tʁɑ̃.ɡle\) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 56168, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ébranler is recorded at frequency rank #33,084, classified as averb, pronounced \e.bʁɑ̃.le\. étrangler is at rank #23,084, tagged as averb, pronounced \e.tʁɑ̃.ɡle\.
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 56168, this pair ranks #122,790 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of ébranler vs étrangler
Shared letters: aelnré. Private to "ébranler": b. Private to "étrangler": gt.
"ébranler" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC · "étrangler" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCCCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "ébranler" and "étrangler" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary French text, does "ébranler" or "étrangler" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "ébranler" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "étrangler" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #122,790 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ébranler" and "étrangler" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ébranle vs ébranler". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #122,790 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.