égardvségaréConfusable pair

Quick tell: égard is a noun, égaré is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“égard” is a noun and “égaré” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#2,698
“égard” frequency rank
#20,614
“égaré” frequency rank
23312
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature égard égaré
Definition Action de prendre quelque chose en considération, d’y faire attention, d’en tenir compte. Écarté du droit chemin, perdu, qui ne sait plus où il est.

Where the eye mixes égard and égaré

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

5 ch
égard
5 ch
égaré

Visual trap between égard and égaré

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: égard is \e.ɡaʁ\ while égaré is \e.ɡa.ʁe\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - d in “égard” becomes é in “égaré”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 23312, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

égard is recorded at frequency rank #2,698, classified as anoun, pronounced \e.ɡaʁ\. égaré is at rank #20,614, 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 23312, this pair ranks #353,228 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of égard vs égaré

Shared letters: agré. Private to "égard": d. Private to "égaré": -.

"égard" · 5 letters · shape VCVCC  ·  "égaré" · 5 letters · shape VCVCV

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "égard" for "égaré" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "égard" is a noun and "égaré" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "égard" vs "égaré" - which ranks higher?
"égard" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,698 in our French list, against #20,614 for "égaré". 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 "égard" and "égaré" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "égard" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "égaré" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #353,228 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "égard" and "égaré" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "égaré vs Erdre". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #353,228 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