Which to use
“éternel” is an adjective and “éternelle” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #6,577
- “éternel” frequency rank
- #8,641
- “éternelle” frequency rank
- 15218
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | éternel | éternelle |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Qui n’a pas eu de commencement et n’aura jamais de fin. | Plante de la famille des composées, généralement appelée immortelle, qui est ainsi nommée parce que ses fleurs ne se fanent jamais, une fois coupées. |
Same sound, different letters: éternel vs éternelle
Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 7 letters. éternel runs 7 letters (VCVCCVC) against éternelle's 9 (VCVCCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Same sound, different spelling - éternel / éternelle
Say them out loud and nothing separates them: éternel and éternelle carry the same recorded pronunciation, \e.tɛʁ.nɛl\. Grammar is what tells them apart: one is anadjective, the other anoun, so most sentences will only accept one of them. They differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “éternel” sits inside “éternelle”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 15218, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
éternel is recorded at frequency rank #6,577, classified as anadj, pronounced \e.tɛʁ.nɛl\. éternelle is at rank #8,641, tagged as anoun, pronounced \e.tɛʁ.nɛl\.
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 15218, this pair ranks #393,321 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of éternel vs éternelle
Shared letters: elnrté. Private to "éternel": -. Private to "éternelle": -.
"éternel" · 7 letters · shape VCVCCVC · "éternelle" · 9 letters · shape VCVCCVCCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "éternel" for "éternelle" ever safe?
Frequency check: "éternel" vs "éternelle" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Sound matches; spelling doesn't. Use the exits below to lock the right form or check a cousin pair.
- Full dictionary entry for "éternel" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "éternelle" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #393,321 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "éternel" and "éternelle" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "éternelle vs éternelles". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #393,321 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.