étalevsétalsWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: étale is a adjective, étals is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“étale” is an adjective and “étals” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#17,318
“étale” frequency rank
#34,827
“étals” frequency rank
52145
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature étale étals
Definition Qui est stationnaire. Pluriel de étal.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set étale and étals apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
étale
5 ch
étals

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Say them out loud and nothing separates them: étale and étals carry the same recorded pronunciation, \e.tal\. Grammar is what tells them apart: one is anadjective, the other anoun, so most sentences will only accept one of them. They differ by a single letter - e in “étale” becomes s in “étals”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 52145, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

étale is recorded at frequency rank #17,318, classified as anadj, pronounced \e.tal\. étals is at rank #34,827, tagged as anoun, pronounced \e.tal\.

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 52145, this pair ranks #149,846 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of étale vs étals

Shared letters: alté. Private to "étale": e. Private to "étals": s.

"étale" · 5 letters · shape VCVCV  ·  "étals" · 5 letters · shape VCVCC

Frequency comparison

étale#17,318
étals#34,827

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "étale" and "étals" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "étale" is an adjective and "étals" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "étale" or "étals"?
"étale" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #17,318 in our French list, against #34,827 for "étals". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering étale vs étals

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “étale”; for a noun, it's “étals”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “étale” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list