Which to use
“élance” is a verb and “étanche” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #26,933
- “élance” frequency rank
- #20,621
- “étanche” frequency rank
- 47554
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | élance | étanche |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Première personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de élancer. | Qui ne laisse pas passer les liquides ou les gaz. |
Where the eye mixes élance and étanche
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. élance runs 6 letters (VCVCCV) against étanche's 7 (VCVCCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses élance with étanche
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: élance is \e.lɑ̃s\ while étanche is \e.tɑ̃ʃ\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 47554, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
élance is recorded at frequency rank #26,933, classified as averb, pronounced \e.lɑ̃s\. étanche is at rank #20,621, tagged as anadj, pronounced \e.tɑ̃ʃ\.
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 47554, this pair ranks #186,040 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of élance vs étanche
Shared letters: acené. Private to "élance": l. Private to "étanche": ht.
"élance" · 6 letters · shape VCVCCV · "étanche" · 7 letters · shape VCVCCCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "élance" and "étanche" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "élance" vs "étanche" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "élance" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "étanche" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #186,040 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "élance" and "étanche" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "élance vs élancent". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #186,040 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.