Which to use
“encombre” is a noun and “encombrer” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #24,957
- “encombre” frequency rank
- #37,791
- “encombrer” frequency rank
- 62748
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | encombre | encombrer |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Obstacle, difficulté matérielle ou d’autre nature. | Obstruer ; embarrasser. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set encombre and encombrer apart are highlighted. They share 8 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: encombre is \ɑ̃.kɔ̃bʁ\ while encombrer is [ɑ̃.kɔ̃.bʁe]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “encombre” sits inside “encombrer”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 62748, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
encombre is recorded at frequency rank #24,957, classified as anoun, pronounced \ɑ̃.kɔ̃bʁ\. encombrer is at rank #37,791, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɑ̃.kɔ̃.bʁe].
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 62748, this pair ranks #85,501 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of encombre vs encombrer
Shared letters: bcemnor. Private to "encombre": -. Private to "encombrer": -.
"encombre" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCCV · "encombrer" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "encombre" and "encombrer" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "encombre" or "encombrer"?
Remembering encombre vs encombrer
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “encombre”; for a verb, it's “encombrer”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “encombre” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable