éclaircivséclaircieWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: éclairci is a adjective, éclaircie is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“éclairci” is an adjective and “éclaircie” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#42,697
“éclairci” frequency rank
#36,211
“éclaircie” frequency rank
78908
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature éclairci éclaircie
Definition Rendu plus clair. Endroit clair qui paraît au ciel en temps de brume ou entre des nuages.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set éclairci and éclaircie apart are highlighted. They share 8 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
éclairci
9 ch
éclaircie

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Say them out loud and nothing separates them: éclairci and éclaircie carry the same recorded pronunciation, \e.klɛʁ.si\. Grammar is what tells them apart: one is anadjective, the other anoun, so most sentences will only accept one of them. They differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “éclairci” sits inside “éclaircie”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 78908, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

éclairci is recorded at frequency rank #42,697, classified as anadj, pronounced \e.klɛʁ.si\. éclaircie is at rank #36,211, tagged as anoun, pronounced \e.klɛʁ.si\.

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 78908, this pair ranks #24,560 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of éclairci vs éclaircie

Shared letters: acilré. Private to "éclairci": -. Private to "éclaircie": e.

"éclairci" · 8 letters · shape VCCVVCCV  ·  "éclaircie" · 9 letters · shape VCCVVCCVV

Frequency comparison

éclairci#42,697
éclaircie#36,211

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "éclairci" and "éclaircie" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "éclairci" is an adjective and "éclaircie" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "éclairci" or "éclaircie"?
"éclaircie" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #36,211 in our French list, against #42,697 for "éclairci". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering éclairci vs éclaircie

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “éclairci”; for a noun, it's “éclaircie”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “éclairci” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list