Which to use
“étagère” and “étrangère” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #20,620
- “étagère” frequency rank
- #3,582
- “étrangère” frequency rank
- 24202
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | étagère | étrangère |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Planche fixée horizontalement et destinée au rangement. | Femme qui vient d’un endroit (ville, pays…) différent. |
Where the eye mixes étagère and étrangère
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. étagère runs 7 letters (VCVCVCV) against étrangère's 9 (VCCVCCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses étagère with étrangère
A purely visual mix-up. étagère (\e.ta.ʒɛʁ\) and étrangère (\e.tʁɑ̃.ʒɛʁ\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 24202, 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\. étrangère is at rank #3,582, tagged as anoun, pronounced \e.tʁɑ̃.ʒɛʁ\.
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 24202, this pair ranks #347,960 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of étagère vs étrangère
Shared letters: aegrtèé. Private to "étagère": -. Private to "étrangère": n.
"étagère" · 7 letters · shape VCVCVCV · "étrangère" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCCVCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "étagère" for "étrangère" ever safe?
Frequency check: "étagère" vs "étrangère" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "étagère" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "étrangère" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #347,960 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "étagère" and "étrangère" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "étagère vs étayée". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #347,960 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.