Which to use
“esta” is a verb and “étau” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #38,787
- “esta” frequency rank
- #28,420
- “étau” frequency rank
- 67207
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | esta | étau |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Troisième personne du singulier du passé simple du verbe ester. | Instrument dont se servent les ouvriers pour tenir fermes et serrés les objets qu’ils travaillent, et qui est formé de deux pièces métalliques, appelées mâchoires serrées par une vis horizontale. Suivant la destination, la coupe des mâchoires est différente et pour les menuisiers, il existe aussi des étaux en bois fixés contre un des pieds support de l'établi. Certains types (étaux de machine) sont conçus pour servir de porte-pièces dans des machines d'usinage. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set esta and étau apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: esta is \ɛs.ta\ while étau is \e.to\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 4 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 67207, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
esta is recorded at frequency rank #38,787, classified as averb, pronounced \ɛs.ta\. étau is at rank #28,420, tagged as anoun, pronounced \e.to\.
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 67207, this pair ranks #64,426 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of esta vs étau
Shared letters: at. Private to "esta": es. Private to "étau": ué.
"esta" · 4 letters · shape VCCV · "étau" · 4 letters · shape VCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
- esta ← essta · estta · etsa
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "esta" and "étau" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "esta" or "étau"?
Remembering esta vs étau
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “esta”; for a noun, it's “étau”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “esta” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable