Which to use
“épauler” and “étaler” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #33,088
- “épauler” frequency rank
- #14,584
- “étaler” frequency rank
- 47672
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | épauler | étaler |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Blesser à l’épaule. | Exposer en vente, dans une boutique ou dans quelque autre lieu, des marchandises, des denrées, etc. |
Where the eye mixes épauler and étaler
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. épauler runs 7 letters (VCVVCVC) against étaler's 6 (VCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: épauler vs étaler
A purely visual mix-up. épauler (\e.po.le\) and étaler (\e.ta.le\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 47672, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
épauler is recorded at frequency rank #33,088, classified as averb, pronounced \e.po.le\. étaler is at rank #14,584, tagged as averb, pronounced \e.ta.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 47672, this pair ranks #185,082 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of épauler vs étaler
Shared letters: aelré. Private to "épauler": pu. Private to "étaler": t.
"épauler" · 7 letters · shape VCVVCVC · "étaler" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "épauler" and "étaler" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary French text, does "épauler" or "étaler" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "épauler" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "étaler" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #185,082 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "épauler" and "étaler" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "épauler vs exaucer". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #185,082 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.