Which to use
“élec” and “élève” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #45,965
- “élec” frequency rank
- #1,796
- “élève” frequency rank
- 47761
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | élec | élève |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Électricité. | Personne qui reçoit ou qui a reçu l'enseignement de quelqu'un autre. |
Where the eye mixes élec and élève
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. élec runs 4 letters (VCVC) against élève's 5 (VCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses élec with élève
A purely visual mix-up. élec (\e.lɛk\) and élève (\e.lɛv\) 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 47761, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
élec is recorded at frequency rank #45,965, classified as anoun, pronounced \e.lɛk\. élève is at rank #1,796, tagged as anoun, pronounced \e.lɛv\.
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 47761, this pair ranks #184,354 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of élec vs élève
Shared letters: elé. Private to "élec": c. Private to "élève": vè.
"élec" · 4 letters · shape VCVC · "élève" · 5 letters · shape VCVCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "élec" for "élève" ever safe?
In ordinary French text, does "élec" or "élève" show up more?
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 "élec" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "élève" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #184,354 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "élec" and "élève" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "élec vs ell". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #184,354 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.