éclatavséclaterConfusable pair

Which to use

“éclata” and “éclater” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#32,645
“éclata” frequency rank
#7,772
“éclater” frequency rank
40417
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature éclata éclater
Definition Troisième personne du singulier du passé simple de éclater. Exploser; se rompre, se briser en projetant des fragments.

Where the eye mixes éclata and éclater

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. éclata runs 6 letters (VCCVCV) against éclater's 7 (VCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
éclata
7 ch
éclater

Why the eye confuses éclata with éclater

A purely visual mix-up. éclata (\e.kla.ta\) and éclater (\e.kla.te\) 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 40417, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

éclata is recorded at frequency rank #32,645, classified as averb, pronounced \e.kla.ta\. 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 40417, this pair ranks #240,675 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of éclata vs éclater

Shared letters: aclté. Private to "éclata": -. Private to "éclater": er.

"éclata" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV  ·  "éclater" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "éclata" and "éclater" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\e.kla.ta\ versus \e.kla.te\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "éclata" vs "éclater" - which ranks higher?
"éclater" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,772 in our French list, against #32,645 for "éclata". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "éclata" and "éclater" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "éclata" 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 #240,675 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "éclata" and "éclater" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "éclata vs éclatée". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #240,675 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list