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 eye mixes épaule and érable
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses épaule with érable
A purely visual mix-up. épaule (\e.pol\) and érable (\e.ʁabl\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. 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.
Orthographic DNA of épaule vs érable
Shared letters: aelé. Private to "épaule": pu. Private to "érable": br.
"épaule" · 6 letters · shape VCVVCV · "érable" · 6 letters · shape VCVCCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "épaule" and "érable" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "épaule" vs "érable" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "épaule" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "érable" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #380,276 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "épaule" and "érable" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "érable vs érables". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #380,276 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.