Which to use
“établi” is an adjective and “établie” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #2,805
- “établi” frequency rank
- #5,094
- “établie” frequency rank
- 7899
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | établi | établie |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Communément admis, ancré dans les mœurs. | Militante révolutionnaire qui s’installe comme ouvrière d'usine pour mener des luttes syndicales. |
Same sound, different letters: établi vs établie
Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 6 letters. établi runs 6 letters (VCVCCV) against établie's 7 (VCVCCVV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Same sound, different spelling - établi / établie
Say them out loud and nothing separates them: établi and établie carry the same recorded pronunciation, \e.ta.bli\. Grammar is what tells them apart: one is anadjective, the other anoun, so most sentences will only accept one of them. They differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “établi” sits inside “établie”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 7899, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
établi is recorded at frequency rank #2,805, classified as anadj, pronounced \e.ta.bli\. établie is at rank #5,094, tagged as anoun, pronounced \e.ta.bli\.
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 7899, this pair ranks #421,790 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of établi vs établie
Shared letters: abilté. Private to "établi": -. Private to "établie": e.
"établi" · 6 letters · shape VCVCCV · "établie" · 7 letters · shape VCVCCVV
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "établi" and "établie" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary French text, does "établi" or "établie" show up more?
Useful next steps
You've separated the homophone pair "établi" / "établie". Follow the links when you need the full entry or a neighbour that trips the same ear.
- Full dictionary entry for "établi" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "établie" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #421,790 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "établi" and "établie" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "établi vs étai". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #421,790 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.