Which to use
“éclate” and “éclatent” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #7,390
- “éclate” frequency rank
- #22,463
- “éclatent” frequency rank
- 29853
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | éclate | éclatent |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Première personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de éclater. | Troisième personne du pluriel du présent de l’indicatif de éclater. |
Same sound, different letters: éclate vs éclatent
Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 6 letters. éclate runs 6 letters (VCCVCV) against éclatent's 8 (VCCVCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Homophone desk: éclate vs éclatent
This is the hard kind. éclate and éclatent are pronounced identically (\e.klat\) and both work as averb. Neither the ear nor the grammar will rescue you; only the meaning does, so the glosses below are the whole decision. They differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “éclate” sits inside “éclatent”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 29853, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
éclate is recorded at frequency rank #7,390, classified as averb, pronounced \e.klat\. éclatent is at rank #22,463, tagged as averb, pronounced \e.klat\.
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 29853, this pair ranks #314,052 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of éclate vs éclatent
Shared letters: acelté. Private to "éclate": -. Private to "éclatent": n.
"éclate" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV · "éclatent" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCVCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "éclate" and "éclatent" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "éclate" vs "éclatent" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Sound matches; spelling doesn't. Use the exits below to lock the right form or check a cousin pair.
- Full dictionary entry for "éclate" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "éclatent" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #314,052 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "éclate" and "éclatent" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "écartent vs éclatent". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #314,052 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.