Which to use
“épaule” and “érable” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #4,542
- “épaule” frequency rank
- #13,499
- “érable” frequency rank
- 18041
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | épaule | érable |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Partie du corps qui attache au cou l’articulation du bras chez l’être humain et du membre antérieur chez les quadrupèdes ; articulation qui relie l'arrière-bras au tronc. | Genre d’arbre qui croît naturellement dans les régions tempérées à feuilles opposées, pétiolées et palmatilobées, généralement simples, dont le fruit est une disamare formée de 2 samares réunies à la base, et dont plusieurs espèces fournissent une liqueur qui peut être convertie en sucre par évaporation. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set épaule and érable apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
épaule and érable form a confusable pair in the French index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 18041, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
épaule is recorded at frequency rank #4,542, classified as anoun, pronounced \e.pol\. érable is at rank #13,499, tagged as anoun, pronounced \e.ʁabl\.
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 18041, this pair ranks #380,276 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "épaule" and "érable" be used interchangeably?
Remembering épaule vs érable
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 “épaule” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable