envolevsenvoléeWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#15,873
“envole” frequency rank
#24,208
“envolée” frequency rank
40081
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature envole envolée
Definition Première personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de envoler. Action de s’envoler.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set envole and envolée apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
envole
7 ch
envolée

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: envole is \ɑ̃.vɔl\ while envolée is \ɑ̃.vɔ.le\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40081, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

envole is recorded at frequency rank #15,873, classified as averb, pronounced \ɑ̃.vɔl\. envolée is at rank #24,208, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ɑ̃.vɔ.le\.

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 40081, this pair ranks #243,189 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of envole vs envolée

Shared letters: elnov. Private to "envole": -. Private to "envolée": é.

"envole" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV  ·  "envolée" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • envoleennvole · enovle · envloe · envoel · envolle · envvole · evnole · nevole

Frequency comparison

envole#15,873
envolée#24,208

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "envole" and "envolée" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "envole" is a verb and "envolée" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "envole" or "envolée"?
"envole" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #15,873 in our French list, against #24,208 for "envolée". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering envole vs envolée

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “envole”; for a noun, it's “envolée”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “envole” 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