enlevervsenlèvesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#2,672
“enlever” frequency rank
#26,352
“enlèves” frequency rank
29024
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature enlever enlèves
Definition Déplacer vers le haut. Deuxième personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de enlever.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set enlever and enlèves apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
enlever
7 ch
enlèves

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. enlever (\ɑ̃l.ve\) and enlèves (\ɑ̃.lɛv\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 29024, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

enlever is recorded at frequency rank #2,672, classified as averb, pronounced \ɑ̃l.ve\. enlèves is at rank #26,352, tagged as averb, pronounced \ɑ̃.lɛv\.

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 29024, this pair ranks #319,212 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of enlever vs enlèves

Shared letters: elnv. Private to "enlever": r. Private to "enlèves": .

"enlever" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC  ·  "enlèves" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • enleverelnever · enelver · enleevr · enleverr · enlevre · enlevver · enllever · enlveer

Frequency comparison

enlever#2,672
enlèves#26,352

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "enlever" and "enlèves" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\ɑ̃l.ve\ versus \ɑ̃.lɛv\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "enlever" or "enlèves"?
"enlever" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,672 in our French list, against #26,352 for "enlèves". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering enlever vs enlèves

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “enlever” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list