Which to use
“étalées” and “étayée” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #44,277
- “étalées” frequency rank
- #48,290
- “étayée” frequency rank
- 92567
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | étalées | étayée |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Participe passé féminin pluriel de étaler. | Participe passé féminin singulier de étayer. |
Where the eye mixes étalées and étayée
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. étalées runs 7 letters (VCVCVVC) against étayée's 6 (VCVVVV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between étalées and étayée
A purely visual mix-up. étalées (\e.ta.le\) and étayée (\e.tɛ.je\) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 92567, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
étalées is recorded at frequency rank #44,277, classified as averb, pronounced \e.ta.le\. étayée is at rank #48,290, tagged as averb, pronounced \e.tɛ.je\.
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 92567, this pair ranks #2,899 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of étalées vs étayée
Shared letters: aeté. Private to "étalées": ls. Private to "étayée": y.
"étalées" · 7 letters · shape VCVCVVC · "étayée" · 6 letters · shape VCVVVV
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "étalées" and "étayée" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "étalées" or "étayée"?
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 "étalées" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "étayée" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #2,899 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "étalées" and "étayée" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "entamées vs étalées". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #2,899 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.