Which to use
“étage” and “étang” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,499
- “étage” frequency rank
- #11,159
- “étang” frequency rank
- 13658
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | étage | étang |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Espace entre deux planchers au-dessus du rez-de-chaussée dans un bâtiment. | Grand amas d’eau retenu par une chaussée naturelle ou artificielle. |
Where the eye mixes étage and étang
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. étage (VCVCV) and étang (VCVCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between étage and étang
A purely visual mix-up. étage (\e.taʒ\) and étang (\e.tɑ̃\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 13658, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
étage is recorded at frequency rank #2,499, classified as anoun, pronounced \e.taʒ\. étang is at rank #11,159, tagged as anoun, pronounced \e.tɑ̃\.
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 13658, this pair ranks #400,098 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of étage vs étang
Shared letters: agté. Private to "étage": e. Private to "étang": n.
"étage" · 5 letters · shape VCVCV · "étang" · 5 letters · shape VCVCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "étage" and "étang" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "étage" or "étang"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "étage" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "étang" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #400,098 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "étage" and "étang" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "étai vs étang". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #400,098 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.