Which to use
“éclatent” and “écrasent” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #22,463
- “éclatent” frequency rank
- #31,790
- “écrasent” frequency rank
- 54253
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | éclatent | écrasent |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Troisième personne du pluriel du présent de l’indicatif de éclater. | Troisième personne du pluriel du présent de l’indicatif de écraser. |
Where the eye mixes éclatent and écrasent
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. éclatent and écrasent follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVCVCC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses éclatent with écrasent
A purely visual mix-up. éclatent (\e.klat\) and écrasent (\e.kʁaz\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 54253, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
éclatent is recorded at frequency rank #22,463, classified as averb, pronounced \e.klat\. écrasent is at rank #31,790, tagged as averb, pronounced \e.kʁaz\.
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 54253, this pair ranks #135,257 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of éclatent vs écrasent
Shared letters: acenté. Private to "éclatent": l. Private to "écrasent": rs.
"éclatent" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCVCC · "écrasent" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCVCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "éclatent" and "écrasent" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "éclatent" vs "écrasent" - which ranks higher?
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 "éclatent" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "écrasent" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #135,257 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "éclatent" and "écrasent" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "écrasées vs écrasent". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #135,257 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.