Which to use
“embête” and “embêter” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #17,944
- “embête” frequency rank
- #13,781
- “embêter” frequency rank
- 31725
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | embête | embêter |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Première personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de embêter. | Causer un tort ou du souci. |
Where the eye mixes embête and embêter
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. embête runs 6 letters (VCCVCV) against embêter's 7 (VCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between embête and embêter
A purely visual mix-up. embête (\ɑ̃.bɛt\) and embêter (\ɑ̃.be.te\) 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 extra letter(s) - “embête” sits inside “embêter”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 31725, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
embête is recorded at frequency rank #17,944, classified as averb, pronounced \ɑ̃.bɛt\. embêter is at rank #13,781, tagged as averb, pronounced \ɑ̃.be.te\.
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 31725, this pair ranks #301,945 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of embête vs embêter
Shared letters: bemtê. Private to "embête": -. Private to "embêter": r.
"embête" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV · "embêter" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "embête" and "embêter" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "embête" or "embêter"?
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 "embête" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "embêter" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #301,945 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "embête" and "embêter" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "embête vs entêté". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #301,945 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.