Which to use
“éclat” is a noun and “éclater” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #7,389
- “éclat” frequency rank
- #7,772
- “éclater” frequency rank
- 15161
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | éclat | éclater |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Partie détachée brusquement d’un corps qui éclate. | Exploser; se rompre, se briser en projetant des fragments. |
Where the eye mixes éclat and éclater
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: éclat vs éclater
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: éclat is \e.kla\ while éclater is \e.kla.te\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “éclat” sits inside “éclater”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 15161, 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\. éclater is at rank #7,772, tagged as averb, 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 15161, this pair ranks #393,587 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of éclat vs éclater
Shared letters: aclté. Private to "éclat": -. Private to "éclater": er.
"éclat" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC · "éclater" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "éclat" for "éclater" ever safe?
In ordinary French text, does "éclat" or "éclater" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "éclat" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "éclater" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #393,587 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "éclat" and "éclater" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "éclat vs ela". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #393,587 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.