Which to use
“éclipses” and “églises” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #36,668
- “éclipses” frequency rank
- #4,114
- “églises” frequency rank
- 40782
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | éclipses | églises |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de éclipse. | Pluriel de église. |
Where the eye mixes éclipses and églises
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. éclipses runs 8 letters (VCCVCCVC) against églises's 7 (VCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses éclipses with églises
A purely visual mix-up. éclipses (\e.klips\) and églises (\e.ɡliz\) 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 40782, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
éclipses is recorded at frequency rank #36,668, classified as anoun, pronounced \e.klips\. églises is at rank #4,114, tagged as anoun, pronounced \e.ɡliz\.
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 40782, this pair ranks #237,928 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of éclipses vs églises
Shared letters: eilsé. Private to "éclipses": cp. Private to "églises": g.
"éclipses" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC · "églises" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "éclipses" for "églises" ever safe?
Which is more common, "éclipses" or "églises"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "éclipses" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "églises" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #237,928 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "éclipses" and "églises" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "éclipses vs ellipses". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #237,928 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.