Which to use
“éclat” is a noun and “éclatée” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #7,389
- “éclat” frequency rank
- #31,304
- “éclatée” frequency rank
- 38693
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | éclat | éclatée |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Partie détachée brusquement d’un corps qui éclate. | Féminin singulier de éclaté. |
Where the eye mixes éclat and éclatée
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: éclat vs éclatée
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: éclat is \e.kla\ while éclatée is \e.kla.te\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “éclat” sits inside “éclatée”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38693, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
éclat is recorded at frequency rank #7,389, classified as anoun, pronounced \e.kla\. éclatée is at rank #31,304, tagged as anadj, pronounced \e.kla.te\.
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 38693, this pair ranks #253,466 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of éclat vs éclatée
Shared letters: aclté. Private to "éclat": -. Private to "éclatée": e.
"éclat" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC · "éclatée" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVV
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "éclat" and "éclatée" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary French text, does "éclat" or "éclatée" show up more?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "éclat" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "éclatée" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #253,466 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "éclat" and "éclatée" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "éclata vs éclatée". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #253,466 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.