Which to use
“établir” is a verb and “établis” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #2,498
- “établir” frequency rank
- #8,182
- “établis” frequency rank
- 10680
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | établir | établis |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Asseoir et fixer une chose en un endroit, l’y rendre stable. | Masculin pluriel de établi. |
Where the eye mixes établir and établis
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. établir and établis follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between établir and établis
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: établir is \e.ta.bliʁ\ while établis is \e.ta.bli\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - r in “établir” becomes s in “établis”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 10680, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
établir is recorded at frequency rank #2,498, classified as averb, pronounced \e.ta.bliʁ\. établis is at rank #8,182, tagged as anadj, 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 10680, this pair ranks #412,048 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of établir vs établis
Shared letters: abilté. Private to "établir": r. Private to "établis": s.
"établir" · 7 letters · shape VCVCCVC · "établis" · 7 letters · shape VCVCCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "établir" for "établis" ever safe?
Frequency check: "établir" vs "établis" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "établir" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "établis" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #412,048 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "établir" and "établis" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "érables vs établis". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #412,048 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.