embrassavsembrasserWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

“embrassa” and “embrasser” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#41,265
“embrassa” frequency rank
#5,753
“embrasser” frequency rank
47018
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature embrassa embrasser
Definition Troisième personne du singulier du passé simple de embrasser. Serrer, étreindre avec les deux bras.

Where the eye mixes embrassa and embrasser

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. embrassa runs 8 letters (VCCCVCCV) against embrasser's 9 (VCCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
embrassa
9 ch
embrasser

Why the eye confuses embrassa with embrasser

A purely visual mix-up. embrassa (\ɑ̃.bʁa.sa\) and embrasser (\ɑ̃.bʁa.se\) 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 47018, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

embrassa is recorded at frequency rank #41,265, classified as averb, pronounced \ɑ̃.bʁa.sa\. embrasser is at rank #5,753, tagged as averb, pronounced \ɑ̃.bʁa.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 47018, this pair ranks #190,281 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of embrassa vs embrasser

Shared letters: abemrs. Private to "embrassa": -. Private to "embrasser": -.

"embrassa" · 8 letters · shape VCCCVCCV  ·  "embrasser" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • embrassa ← ebmrassa · embarssa · embbrassa · embrasa · embrasas · embrrassa · embrsasa · emmbrassa
  • embrasser ← ebmrasser · embarsser · embbrasser · embraser · embrasesr · embrasserr · embrassre · embrrasser

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "embrassa" and "embrasser" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently (\ɑ̃.bʁa.sa\ versus \ɑ̃.bʁa.se\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "embrassa" or "embrasser"?
"embrasser" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,753 in our French list, against #41,265 for "embrassa". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "embrassa" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "embrasser" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #190,281 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "embrassa" and "embrasser" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "embrase vs embrassa". 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 #190,281 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list