Which to use
“étoilée” and “étoiles” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #34,829
- “étoilée” frequency rank
- #2,159
- “étoiles” frequency rank
- 36988
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | étoilée | étoiles |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Synonyme d’orgye étoilée (papillon). | Pluriel de étoile. |
Where the eye mixes étoilée and étoiles
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. étoilée (VCVVCVV) and étoiles (VCVVCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: étoilée vs étoiles
A purely visual mix-up. étoilée (\e.twa.le\) and étoiles (\e.twal\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 36988, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
étoilée is recorded at frequency rank #34,829, classified as anoun, pronounced \e.twa.le\. étoiles is at rank #2,159, tagged as anoun, pronounced \e.twal\.
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 36988, this pair ranks #265,697 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of étoilée vs étoiles
Shared letters: eiloté. Private to "étoilée": -. Private to "étoiles": s.
"étoilée" · 7 letters · shape VCVVCVV · "étoiles" · 7 letters · shape VCVVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "étoilée" and "étoiles" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary French text, does "étoilée" or "étoiles" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "étoilée" and "étoiles" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "étoilée" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "étoiles" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #265,697 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "étoilée" and "étoiles" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "étoilée vs exilée". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #265,697 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.