égalervségaréeTell them apart

Quick tell: égaler is a verb, égarée is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“égaler” is a verb and “égarée” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#22,741
“égaler” frequency rank
#36,213
“égarée” frequency rank
58954
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature égaler égarée
Definition Rendre égal. Féminin singulier de égaré.

Where the eye mixes égaler and égarée

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. égaler (VCVCVC) and égarée (VCVCVV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

6 ch
égaler
6 ch
égarée

Why the eye confuses égaler with égarée

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: égaler is \e.ɡa.le\ while égarée is \e.ɡa.ʁe\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 58954, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

égaler is recorded at frequency rank #22,741, classified as averb, pronounced \e.ɡa.le\. égarée is at rank #36,213, tagged as anadj, pronounced \e.ɡa.ʁe\.

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 58954, this pair ranks #105,942 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of égaler vs égarée

Shared letters: aegré. Private to "égaler": l. Private to "égarée": -.

"égaler" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVC  ·  "égarée" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVV

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "égaler" and "égarée" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "égaler" is a verb and "égarée" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary French text, does "égaler" or "égarée" show up more?
"égaler" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #22,741 in our French list, against #36,213 for "égarée". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "égaler" and "égarée" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "égaler" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "égarée" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #105,942 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "égaler" and "égarée" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "égarée vs étayée". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #105,942 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list