Which to use
“efface” is a noun and “effacer” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #10,492
- “efface” frequency rank
- #5,974
- “effacer” frequency rank
- 16466
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | efface | effacer |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Petit cube de caoutchouc qui sert à effacer ce qui a été écrit avec un crayon de plomb. | Faire disparaître plus ou moins, en parlant de la forme, des couleurs de quelque chose. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set efface and effacer apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: efface is \e.fas\ while effacer is \e.fa.se\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “efface” sits inside “effacer”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 16466, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
efface is recorded at frequency rank #10,492, classified as anoun, pronounced \e.fas\. effacer is at rank #5,974, tagged as averb, pronounced \e.fa.se\.
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 16466, this pair ranks #387,714 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of efface vs effacer
Shared letters: acef. Private to "efface": -. Private to "effacer": r.
"efface" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV · "effacer" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "efface" and "effacer" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "efface" or "effacer"?
Remembering efface vs effacer
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “efface”; for a verb, it's “effacer”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “efface” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable