équilibréevséquilibrerWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: équilibrée is a adjective, équilibrer is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“équilibrée” is an adjective and “équilibrer” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#15,549
“équilibrée” frequency rank
#17,317
“équilibrer” frequency rank
32866
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature équilibrée équilibrer
Definition Féminin singulier de équilibré. Mettre ou tenir en équilibre.

Same sound, different letters: équilibrée vs équilibrer

Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 9 letters.

10 ch
équilibrée
10 ch
équilibrer

Ear matches; page differs - équilibrée and équilibrer

Say them out loud and nothing separates them: équilibrée and équilibrer carry the same recorded pronunciation, \e.ki.li.bʁe\. Grammar is what tells them apart: one is anadjective, the other averb, so most sentences will only accept one of them. They share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 32866, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

équilibrée is recorded at frequency rank #15,549, classified as anadj, pronounced \e.ki.li.bʁe\. équilibrer is at rank #17,317, tagged as averb, 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 32866, this pair ranks #294,440 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of équilibrée vs équilibrer

Shared letters: beilqrué. Private to "équilibrée": -. Private to "équilibrer": -.

"équilibrée" · 10 letters · shape VCVVCVCCVV  ·  "équilibrer" · 10 letters · shape VCVVCVCCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "équilibrée" and "équilibrer" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "équilibrée" is an adjective and "équilibrer" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "équilibrée" or "équilibrer"?
"équilibrée" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #15,549 in our French list, against #17,317 for "équilibrer". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

You've separated the homophone pair "équilibrée" / "équilibrer". Follow the links when you need the full entry or a neighbour that trips the same ear.

  • Full dictionary entry for "équilibrée" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "équilibrer" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #294,440 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "équilibrée" and "équilibrer" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "équilibrées vs équilibrer". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #294,440 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list