éparsvsétalsWhich spelling fits?

Quick tell: épars is a adjective, étals is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“épars” is an adjective and “étals” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#36,217
“épars” frequency rank
#34,827
“étals” frequency rank
71044
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature épars étals
Definition Répandu de ci, de là. Pluriel de étal.

Letter map: épars vs étals

Shared letters muted; letters that set épars and étals apart highlighted. Shared run: 3.

5 ch
épars
5 ch
étals

Role in the sentence - épars and étals

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: épars is anadjective and étalsanoun. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 71044, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

épars is recorded at frequency rank #36,217, classified as anadj. étals is at rank #34,827, tagged as anoun, pronounced \e.tal\.

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 71044, this pair ranks #49,011 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of épars vs étals

Shared letters: asé. Private to "épars": pr. Private to "étals": lt.

"épars" · 5 letters · shape VCVCC  ·  "étals" · 5 letters · shape VCVCC

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "épars" for "étals" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "épars" is an adjective and "étals" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "épars" vs "étals" - which ranks higher?
"étals" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #34,827 in our French list, against #36,217 for "épars". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pair "épars" vs "étals" is on the table, pick a follow-up below.

  • Full dictionary entry for "épars" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "étals" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #49,011 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "épars" and "étals" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "étai vs étals". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #49,011 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list