Which to use
“établi” is an adjective and “étals” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #2,805
- “établi” frequency rank
- #34,827
- “étals” frequency rank
- 37632
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | établi | étals |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Communément admis, ancré dans les mœurs. | Pluriel de étal. |
Where the eye mixes établi and étals
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. établi runs 6 letters (VCVCCV) against étals's 5 (VCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between établi and étals
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: établi is \e.ta.bli\ while étals is \e.tal\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 37632, 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\. étals is at rank #34,827, tagged as anoun, pronounced \e.tal\.
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 37632, this pair ranks #261,117 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of établi vs étals
Shared letters: alté. Private to "établi": bi. Private to "étals": s.
"établi" · 6 letters · shape VCVCCV · "étals" · 5 letters · shape VCVCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "établi" for "étals" ever safe?
Frequency check: "établi" vs "étals" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "établi" and "étals" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "établi" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "étals" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #261,117 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "établi" and "étals" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "étai vs étals". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #261,117 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.