équilibrervséquilibrésConfusable pair

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

Which to use

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

#17,317
“équilibrer” frequency rank
#31,311
“équilibrés” frequency rank
48628
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature équilibrer équilibrés
Definition Mettre ou tenir en équilibre. Masculin pluriel de équilibré.

Same sound, different letters: équilibrer vs équilibrés

Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 8 letters.

10 ch
équilibrer
10 ch
équilibrés

Homophone desk: équilibrer vs équilibrés

Say them out loud and nothing separates them: équilibrer and équilibrés carry the same recorded pronunciation, \e.ki.li.bʁe\. Grammar is what tells them apart: one is averb, the other anadjective, 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 48628, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

équilibrer is recorded at frequency rank #17,317, classified as averb, pronounced \e.ki.li.bʁe\. équilibrés is at rank #31,311, 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 48628, this pair ranks #177,340 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of équilibrer vs équilibrés

Shared letters: bilqrué. Private to "équilibrer": e. Private to "équilibrés": s.

"équilibrer" · 10 letters · shape VCVVCVCCVC  ·  "équilibrés" · 10 letters · shape VCVVCVCCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "équilibrer" and "équilibrés" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "équilibrer" is a verb and "équilibrés" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "équilibrer" vs "équilibrés" - which ranks higher?
"équilibrer" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #17,317 in our French list, against #31,311 for "équilibrés". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

"équilibrer" and "équilibrés" share a sound, keep the gloss open, then jump to the headword or a nearby trap.

  • Full dictionary entry for "équilibrer" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "équilibrés" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #177,340 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "équilibrer" and "équilibrés" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "équilibrées vs équilibrés". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #177,340 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