Which to use
“étoffe” is a noun and “étouffe” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #18,630
- “étoffe” frequency rank
- #16,045
- “étouffe” frequency rank
- 34675
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | étoffe | étouffe |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tissu de soie, de laine, de coton, etc., dont on fait des habits, dont on recouvre des meubles, etc. | Première personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de étouffer. |
Where the eye mixes étoffe and étouffe
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. étoffe runs 6 letters (VCVCCV) against étouffe's 7 (VCVVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses étoffe with étouffe
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: étoffe is \e.tɔf\ while étouffe is \e.tuf\. 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 34675, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
étoffe is recorded at frequency rank #18,630, classified as anoun, pronounced \e.tɔf\. étouffe is at rank #16,045, tagged as averb, pronounced \e.tuf\.
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 34675, this pair ranks #282,177 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of étoffe vs étouffe
Shared letters: efoté. Private to "étoffe": -. Private to "étouffe": u.
"étoffe" · 6 letters · shape VCVCCV · "étouffe" · 7 letters · shape VCVVCCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "étoffe" for "étouffe" ever safe?
Which is more common, "étoffe" or "étouffe"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "étoffe" and "étouffe" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "étoffe" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "étouffe" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #282,177 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "étoffe" and "étouffe" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "étouffe vs étouffent". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #282,177 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.