Which to use
“énerver” and “entraver” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #10,619
- “énerver” frequency rank
- #22,257
- “entraver” frequency rank
- 32876
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | énerver | entraver |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Agacer en produisant une irritation nerveuse. | Gêner, empêcher la marche par une entrave. |
Where the eye mixes énerver and entraver
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. énerver runs 7 letters (VCVCCVC) against entraver's 8 (VCCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between énerver and entraver
A purely visual mix-up. énerver (\e.nɛʁ.ve\) and entraver (\ɑ̃.tʁa.ve\) 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 32876, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
énerver is recorded at frequency rank #10,619, classified as averb, pronounced \e.nɛʁ.ve\. entraver is at rank #22,257, tagged as averb, pronounced \ɑ̃.tʁa.ve\.
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 32876, this pair ranks #294,364 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of énerver vs entraver
Shared letters: enrv. Private to "énerver": é. Private to "entraver": at.
"énerver" · 7 letters · shape VCVCCVC · "entraver" · 8 letters · shape VCCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- entraver ← enntraver · enrtaver · entarver · entraevr · entraverr · entravre · entravver · entrraver
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "énerver" for "entraver" ever safe?
Frequency check: "énerver" vs "entraver" - 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 "énerver" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "entraver" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #294,364 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "énerver" and "entraver" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "entravée vs entraver". 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 #294,364 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.