Which to use
“éclate” is a verb and “écluse” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #7,390
- “éclate” frequency rank
- #29,608
- “écluse” frequency rank
- 36998
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | éclate | écluse |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Première personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de éclater. | Clôture en forme de bassin, faite de terre, de pierre, de bois ou de toute autre matière dans un port, sur une rivière, sur un canal, etc., ayant une ou plusieurs portes qui se lèvent et se baissent ou qui s’ouvrent et se ferment, pour retenir et pour laisser passer l’eau. |
Where the eye mixes éclate and écluse
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. éclate and écluse follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses éclate with écluse
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: éclate is \e.klat\ while écluse is \e.klyz\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 36998, 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\. écluse is at rank #29,608, tagged as anoun, pronounced \e.klyz\.
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 36998, this pair ranks #265,615 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of éclate vs écluse
Shared letters: celé. Private to "éclate": at. Private to "écluse": su.
"éclate" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV · "écluse" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "éclate" for "écluse" ever safe?
Frequency check: "éclate" vs "écluse" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "éclate" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "écluse" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #265,615 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "éclate" and "écluse" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "écœuré vs écluse". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #265,615 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.