égarervsétalerWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#34,817
“égarer” frequency rank
#14,584
“étaler” frequency rank
49401
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature égarer étaler
Definition Mettre hors du droit chemin. Exposer en vente, dans une boutique ou dans quelque autre lieu, des marchandises, des denrées, etc.

Where the eye mixes égarer and étaler

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

6 ch
égarer
6 ch
étaler

Visual trap between égarer and étaler

A purely visual mix-up. égarer (\e.ɡa.ʁe\) and étaler (\e.ta.le\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49401, 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\. étaler is at rank #14,584, tagged as averb, pronounced \e.ta.le\.

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 49401, this pair ranks #170,993 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of égarer vs étaler

Shared letters: aeré. Private to "égarer": g. Private to "étaler": lt.

"égarer" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVC  ·  "étaler" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "égarer" and "étaler" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\e.ɡa.ʁe\ versus \e.ta.le\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary French text, does "égarer" or "étaler" show up more?
"étaler" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #14,584 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.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "égarer" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "étaler" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #170,993 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "égarer" and "étaler" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "égarer vs épater". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #170,993 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