Which to use
“éclater” and “épater” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #7,772
- “éclater” frequency rank
- #38,616
- “épater” frequency rank
- 46388
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | éclater | épater |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Exploser; se rompre, se briser en projetant des fragments. | Priver de l’usage d’une patte. |
Where the eye mixes éclater and épater
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. éclater runs 7 letters (VCCVCVC) against épater's 6 (VCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses éclater with épater
A purely visual mix-up. éclater (\e.kla.te\) and épater (\e.pa.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 46388, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
éclater is recorded at frequency rank #7,772, classified as averb, pronounced \e.kla.te\. épater is at rank #38,616, tagged as averb, pronounced \e.pa.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 46388, this pair ranks #195,359 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of éclater vs épater
Shared letters: aerté. Private to "éclater": cl. Private to "épater": p.
"éclater" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC · "épater" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "éclater" and "épater" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "éclater" or "épater"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "éclater" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "épater" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #195,359 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "éclater" and "épater" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "épater vs épier". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #195,359 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.