Which to use
“éclair” and “éclairs” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #8,324
- “éclair” frequency rank
- #18,914
- “éclairs” frequency rank
- 27238
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | éclair | éclairs |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Lumière vive et soudaine causée par la foudre, qui brille entre les nuages et qui précède le bruit du tonnerre lors d'un orage. | Pluriel de éclair. |
Same sound, different letters: éclair vs éclairs
Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 6 letters. éclair runs 6 letters (VCCVVC) against éclairs's 7 (VCCVVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Same sound, different spelling - éclair / éclairs
This is the hard kind. éclair and éclairs are pronounced identically (\e.klɛʁ\) and both work as anoun. Neither the ear nor the grammar will rescue you; only the meaning does, so the glosses below are the whole decision. They differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “éclair” sits inside “éclairs”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 27238, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
éclair is recorded at frequency rank #8,324, classified as anoun, pronounced \e.klɛʁ\. éclairs is at rank #18,914, tagged as anoun, pronounced \e.klɛʁ\.
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 27238, this pair ranks #330,248 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of éclair vs éclairs
Shared letters: acilré. Private to "éclair": -. Private to "éclairs": s.
"éclair" · 6 letters · shape VCCVVC · "éclairs" · 7 letters · shape VCCVVCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "éclair" and "éclairs" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "éclair" vs "éclairs" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
"éclair" and "éclairs" share a sound, keep the gloss open, then jump to the headword or a nearby trap.
- Full dictionary entry for "éclair" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "éclairs" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #330,248 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "éclair" and "éclairs" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "éclairci vs éclairs". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #330,248 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.