Which to use
“établi” is an adjective and “établit” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #2,805
- “établi” frequency rank
- #5,095
- “établit” frequency rank
- 7900
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | établi | établit |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Communément admis, ancré dans les mœurs. | Troisième personne du singulier de l’indicatif présent de établir. |
Same sound, different letters: établi vs établit
Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 6 letters. établi runs 6 letters (VCVCCV) against établit's 7 (VCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Homophone desk: établi vs établit
Say them out loud and nothing separates them: établi and établit carry the same recorded pronunciation, \e.ta.bli\. Grammar is what tells them apart: one is anadjective, the other averb, so most sentences will only accept one of them. They differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “établi” sits inside “établit”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 7900, 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\. établit is at rank #5,095, tagged as averb, 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 7900, this pair ranks #421,786 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of établi vs établit
Shared letters: abilté. Private to "établi": -. Private to "établit": -.
"établi" · 6 letters · shape VCVCCV · "établit" · 7 letters · shape VCVCCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "établi" for "établit" ever safe?
In ordinary French text, does "établi" or "établit" show up more?
What to do next
"établi" and "établit" share a sound, keep the gloss open, then jump to the headword or a nearby trap.
- Full dictionary entry for "établi" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "établit" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #421,786 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "établi" and "établit" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "établi vs étai". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #421,786 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.