Which to use
“étagère” is a noun and “étaler” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #20,620
- “étagère” frequency rank
- #14,584
- “étaler” frequency rank
- 35204
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | étagère | étaler |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Planche fixée horizontalement et destinée au rangement. | Exposer en vente, dans une boutique ou dans quelque autre lieu, des marchandises, des denrées, etc. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set étagère and étaler apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: étagère is \e.ta.ʒɛʁ\ while étaler is \e.ta.le\. 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 (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 35204, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
étagère is recorded at frequency rank #20,620, classified as anoun, pronounced \e.ta.ʒɛʁ\. étaler is at rank #14,584, tagged as averb, pronounced \e.ta.le\.
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 35204, this pair ranks #278,412 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of étagère vs étaler
Shared letters: aerté. Private to "étagère": gè. Private to "étaler": l.
"étagère" · 7 letters · shape VCVCVCV · "étaler" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVC
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "étagère" and "étaler" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "étagère" or "étaler"?
Remembering étagère vs étaler
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “étagère”; for a verb, it's “étaler”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “étagère” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable