Which to use
“éclate” and “éclater” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #7,390
- “éclate” frequency rank
- #7,772
- “éclater” frequency rank
- 15162
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | éclate | éclater |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Première personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de éclater. | Exploser; se rompre, se briser en projetant des fragments. |
Where the eye mixes éclate and éclater
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. éclate 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.
Visual trap between éclate and éclater
A purely visual mix-up. éclate (\e.klat\) 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 extra letter(s) - “éclate” sits inside “éclater”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 15162, 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\. 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 15162, this pair ranks #393,582 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of éclate vs éclater
Shared letters: acelté. Private to "éclate": -. Private to "éclater": r.
"éclate" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV · "éclater" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "éclate" for "éclater" ever safe?
In ordinary French text, does "éclate" or "éclater" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "éclate" 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 #393,582 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "éclate" and "éclater" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "éclate vs épaté". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #393,582 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.