étagèresvsétagesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“étagères” and “étages” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#26,235
“étagères” frequency rank
#5,416
“étages” frequency rank
31651
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature étagères étages
Definition Pluriel de étagère. Pluriel de étage.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set étagères and étages apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
étagères
6 ch
étages

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. étagères (\e.ta.ʒɛʁ\) and étages (\e.taʒ\) 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 31651, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

étagères is recorded at frequency rank #26,235, classified as anoun, pronounced \e.ta.ʒɛʁ\. étages is at rank #5,416, tagged as anoun, pronounced \e.taʒ\.

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 31651, this pair ranks #302,465 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of étagères vs étages

Shared letters: aegsté. Private to "étagères": . Private to "étages": -.

"étagères" · 8 letters · shape VCVCVCVC  ·  "étages" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVC

Frequency comparison

étagères#26,235
étages#5,416

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "étagères" and "étages" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\e.ta.ʒɛʁ\ versus \e.taʒ\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "étagères" or "étages"?
"étages" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,416 in our French list, against #26,235 for "étagères". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering étagères vs étages

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “étagères” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list