égarervserrerWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“égarer” and “errer” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#34,817
“égarer” frequency rank
#27,802
“errer” frequency rank
62619
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature égarer errer
Definition Mettre hors du droit chemin. Vaguer de côté et d’autre ; aller çà et là.

Where the eye mixes égarer and errer

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

6 ch
égarer
5 ch
errer

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. égarer (\e.ɡa.ʁe\) and errer (\e.ʁe\) 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 62619, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

égarer is recorded at frequency rank #34,817, classified as averb, pronounced \e.ɡa.ʁe\. errer is at rank #27,802, tagged as averb, pronounced \e.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 62619, this pair ranks #86,184 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of égarer vs errer

Shared letters: er. Private to "égarer": agé. Private to "errer": -.

"égarer" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVC  ·  "errer" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • errerererr · errerr · errre · rerer

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "égarer" and "errer" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\e.ɡa.ʁe\ versus \e.ʁe\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "égarer" or "errer"?
"errer" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #27,802 in our French list, against #34,817 for "égarer". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list