équilibre vs équilibrées, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#2,458
“équilibre” frequency rank: #42,702
“équilibrées” frequency rank: 45160
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	équilibre	équilibrées
Definition	État des corps maintenus en repos sous l’influence de plusieurs forces qui se contrebalancent exactement.	Féminin pluriel de équilibré.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set équilibre and équilibrées apart are highlighted. They share 9 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

9 ch

équilibre

11 ch

équilibrées

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: équilibre is \e.ki.libʁ\ while équilibrées is \e.ki.li.bʁe\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 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 45160, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

équilibre is recorded at frequency rank #2,458, classified as anoun, pronounced \e.ki.libʁ\. équilibrées is at rank #42,702, tagged as anadj, pronounced \e.ki.li.bʁe\.

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 45160, this pair ranks #204,930 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of équilibre vs équilibrées

Shared letters: beilqrué. Private to "équilibre": -. Private to "équilibrées": s.

"équilibre" · 9 letters · shape VCVVCVCCV · "équilibrées" · 11 letters · shape VCVVCVCCVVC

Frequency comparison

équilibre#2,458

équilibrées#42,702

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "équilibre" and "équilibrées" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "équilibre" is a noun and "équilibrées" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "équilibre" or "équilibrées"?

"équilibre" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,458 in our French list, against #42,702 for "équilibrées". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering équilibre vs équilibrées

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “équilibre”; for an adjective, it's “équilibrées”.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “équilibre” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable