Which to use
“élec” is a noun and “elle” is a pronoun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #45,965
- “élec” frequency rank
- #41
- “elle” frequency rank
- 46006
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | élec | elle |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Électricité. | Pronom clitique de la troisième personne du singulier féminin sujet. |
Where the eye mixes élec and elle
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses élec with elle
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: élec is \e.lɛk\ while elle is \ɛl\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs pronoun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46006, 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\. elle is at rank #41, tagged as apron, pronounced \ɛl\.
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 46006, this pair ranks #198,363 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of élec vs elle
Shared letters: el. Private to "élec": cé. Private to "elle": -.
"élec" · 4 letters · shape VCVC · "elle" · 4 letters · shape VCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- elle ← elel · lele
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "élec" for "elle" ever safe?
Frequency check: "élec" vs "elle" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
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 "elle" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #198,363 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "élec" and "elle" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "élec vs ell". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #198,363 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.