Which to use
“enfiler” and “enfler” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #16,608
- “enfiler” frequency rank
- #38,784
- “enfler” frequency rank
- 55392
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | enfiler | enfler |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Traverser d’un fil par une ouverture pratiquée à cet effet. | Augmenter un corps de volume ; gonfler. |
Where the eye mixes enfiler and enfler
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. enfiler runs 7 letters (VCCVCVC) against enfler's 6 (VCCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between enfiler and enfler
A purely visual mix-up. enfiler (\ɑ̃.fi.le\) and enfler (\ɑ̃.fle\) 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 55392, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
enfiler is recorded at frequency rank #16,608, classified as averb, pronounced \ɑ̃.fi.le\. enfler is at rank #38,784, tagged as averb, pronounced \ɑ̃.fle\.
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 55392, this pair ranks #127,749 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of enfiler vs enfler
Shared letters: eflnr. Private to "enfiler": i. Private to "enfler": -.
"enfiler" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC · "enfler" · 6 letters · shape VCCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "enfiler" for "enfler" ever safe?
Frequency check: "enfiler" vs "enfler" - which ranks higher?
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 "enfiler" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "enfler" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #127,749 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "enfiler" and "enfler" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "enflé vs enfler". 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 #127,749 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.