Which to use
“errer” and “étirer” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #27,802
- “errer” frequency rank
- #28,030
- “étirer” frequency rank
- 55832
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | errer | étirer |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Vaguer de côté et d’autre ; aller çà et là. | Étendre, allonger. |
Where the eye mixes errer and étirer
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. errer runs 5 letters (VCCVC) against étirer's 6 (VCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: errer vs étirer
A purely visual mix-up. errer (\e.ʁe\) and étirer (\e.ti.ʁe\) 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 55832, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
errer is recorded at frequency rank #27,802, classified as averb, pronounced \e.ʁe\. étirer is at rank #28,030, tagged as averb, pronounced \e.ti.ʁe\.
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 55832, this pair ranks #124,943 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of errer vs étirer
Shared letters: er. Private to "errer": -. Private to "étirer": ité.
"errer" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC · "étirer" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- errer ← ererr · errerr · errre · rerer
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "errer" and "étirer" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary French text, does "errer" or "étirer" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "errer" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "étirer" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #124,943 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "errer" and "étirer" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "épier vs étirer". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #124,943 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.