envoléevsenvoléesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#24,208
“envolée” frequency rank
#36,375
“envolées” frequency rank
60583
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature envolée envolées
Definition Action de s’envoler. Pluriel de envolée.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set envolée and envolées apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
envolée
8 ch
envolées

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

This is the hard kind. envolée and envolées are pronounced identically (\ɑ̃.vɔ.le\) and both work as anoun. Neither the ear nor the grammar will rescue you; only the meaning does, so the glosses below are the whole decision. They differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “envolée” sits inside “envolées”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 60583, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

envolée is recorded at frequency rank #24,208, classified as anoun, pronounced \ɑ̃.vɔ.le\. envolées is at rank #36,375, 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 60583, this pair ranks #96,871 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of envolée vs envolées

Shared letters: elnové. Private to "envolée": -. Private to "envolées": s.

"envolée" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVV  ·  "envolées" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCVVC

Frequency comparison

envolée#24,208
envolées#36,375

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "envolée" and "envolées" be used interchangeably?
No. They are pronounced the same (\ɑ̃.vɔ.le\), which is exactly why they get swapped in writing, but the dictionary meanings above are different, and pronunciation is no guide here.
Which is more common, "envolée" or "envolées"?
"envolée" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #24,208 in our French list, against #36,375 for "envolées". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering envolée vs envolées

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 “envolée” 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