Which to use
“épaule” is a noun and “étale” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #4,542
- “épaule” frequency rank
- #17,318
- “étale” frequency rank
- 21860
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | épaule | étale |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | Qui est stationnaire. |
Where the eye mixes épaule and étale
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. épaule runs 6 letters (VCVVCV) against étale's 5 (VCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between épaule and étale
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: épaule is \e.pol\ while étale is \e.tal\. 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 (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 21860, 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\. étale is at rank #17,318, tagged as anadj, 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 21860, this pair ranks #361,063 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of épaule vs étale
Shared letters: aelé. Private to "épaule": pu. Private to "étale": t.
"épaule" · 6 letters · shape VCVVCV · "étale" · 5 letters · shape VCVCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "épaule" and "étale" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "épaule" vs "étale" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
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 "étale" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #361,063 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "épaule" and "étale" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "étale vs étayée". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #361,063 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.