étatvsevaWhich spelling fits?

Quick tell: état is a noun, eva is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“état” is a noun and “eva” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#200
“état” frequency rank
#6,822
“eva” frequency rank
7022
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature état eva
Definition Disposition dans laquelle se trouve une personne, une chose, une affaire. Boire.

Where the eye mixes état and eva

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.

4 ch
état
3 ch
eva

Why the eye confuses état with eva

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: état is \e.ta\ while eva is \ˈəva\. 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 7022, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

état is recorded at frequency rank #200, classified as anoun, pronounced \e.ta\. eva is at rank #6,822, tagged as averb, pronounced \ˈəva\.

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 7022, this pair ranks #424,511 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of état vs eva

Shared letters: a. Private to "état": . Private to "eva": ev.

"état" · 4 letters · shape VCVC  ·  "eva" · 3 letters · shape VCV

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "état" for "eva" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "état" is a noun and "eva" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "état" or "eva"?
"état" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #200 in our French list, against #6,822 for "eva". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "état" and "eva" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "état" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "eva" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #424,511 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "état" and "eva" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "EPO vs eva". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #424,511 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list