envolvsenvolentWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: envol is a noun, envolent is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“envol” is a noun and “envolent” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#16,871
“envol” frequency rank
#28,158
“envolent” frequency rank
45029
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature envol envolent
Definition Action de s’envoler. Troisième personne du pluriel du présent de l’indicatif de envoler.

Where the spellings diverge

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

5 ch
envol
8 ch
envolent

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Say them out loud and nothing separates them: envol and envolent carry the same recorded pronunciation, \ɑ̃.vɔl\. Grammar is what tells them apart: one is anoun, the other averb, so most sentences will only accept one of them. They differ by 3 extra letter(s) - “envol” sits inside “envolent”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 45029, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

envol is recorded at frequency rank #16,871, classified as anoun, pronounced \ɑ̃.vɔl\. envolent is at rank #28,158, tagged as averb, pronounced \ɑ̃.vɔl\.

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 45029, this pair ranks #205,941 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of envol vs envolent

Shared letters: elnov. Private to "envol": -. Private to "envolent": t.

"envol" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC  ·  "envolent" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • envolennvol · enovl · envlo · envoll · envvol · evnol · nevol
  • envolentennvolent · enovlent · envloent · envoelnt · envolennt · envolentt · envoletn · envollent

Frequency comparison

envol#16,871
envolent#28,158

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "envol" and "envolent" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "envol" is a noun and "envolent" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "envol" or "envolent"?
"envol" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #16,871 in our French list, against #28,158 for "envolent". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering envol vs envolent

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “envol”; for a verb, it's “envolent”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “envol” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list