Which to use
“entraîne” and “extraire” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #3,841
- “entraîne” frequency rank
- #8,852
- “extraire” frequency rank
- 12693
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | entraîne | extraire |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Première personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de entraîner. | Tirer ou retirer une chose d’un lieu, d’un corps dans lequel elle s’est formée ou introduite. |
Where the eye mixes entraîne and extraire
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. entraîne and extraire follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCCVVCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses entraîne with extraire
A purely visual mix-up. entraîne (\ɑ̃.tʁɛn\) and extraire (\ɛks.tʁɛʁ\) 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 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 12693, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
entraîne is recorded at frequency rank #3,841, classified as averb, pronounced \ɑ̃.tʁɛn\. extraire is at rank #8,852, tagged as averb, pronounced \ɛks.tʁɛʁ\.
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 12693, this pair ranks #404,183 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of entraîne vs extraire
Shared letters: aert. Private to "entraîne": nî. Private to "extraire": ix.
"entraîne" · 8 letters · shape VCCCVVCV · "extraire" · 8 letters · shape VCCCVVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- extraire ← etxraire · exrtaire · extarire · extraier · extrairre · extrarie · extriare · extrraire
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "entraîne" for "extraire" ever safe?
Which is more common, "entraîne" or "extraire"?
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 "entraîne" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "extraire" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #404,183 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "entraîne" and "extraire" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "entérine vs entraîne". 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 #404,183 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.