Which to use
“embarras” is a noun and “embarrassé” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #13,370
- “embarras” frequency rank
- #27,049
- “embarrassé” frequency rank
- 40419
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | embarras | embarrassé |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Ce qui embarrasse ou résultat de l’action d’embarrasser. | Arrêté ou gêné par un obstacle. |
Where the eye mixes embarras and embarrassé
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. embarras runs 8 letters (VCCVCCVC) against embarrassé's 10 (VCCVCCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between embarras and embarrassé
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: embarras is \ɑ̃.ba.ʁa\ while embarrassé is \ɑ̃.ba.ʁa.se\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “embarras” sits inside “embarrassé”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40419, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
embarras is recorded at frequency rank #13,370, classified as anoun, pronounced \ɑ̃.ba.ʁa\. embarrassé is at rank #27,049, tagged as anadj, pronounced \ɑ̃.ba.ʁa.se\.
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 40419, this pair ranks #240,654 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of embarras vs embarrassé
Shared letters: abemrs. Private to "embarras": -. Private to "embarrassé": é.
"embarras" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC · "embarrassé" · 10 letters · shape VCCVCCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- embarras ← ebmarras · emabrras · embarars · embaras · embarrass · embarrsa · embbarras · embraras
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "embarras" and "embarrassé" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "embarras" or "embarrassé"?
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 "embarras" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "embarrassé" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #240,654 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "embarras" and "embarrassé" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "embarrassé vs embarrassée". 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 #240,654 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.