Which to use
“étroit” and “étroite” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #9,421
- “étroit” frequency rank
- #7,266
- “étroite” frequency rank
- 16687
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | étroit | étroite |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | De petite largeur. | Féminin singulier de étroit. |
Where the eye mixes étroit and étroite
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. étroit runs 6 letters (VCCVVC) against étroite's 7 (VCCVVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses étroit with étroite
A purely visual mix-up. étroit (\e.tʁwa\) and étroite (\e.tʁwat\) 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 extra letter(s) - “étroit” sits inside “étroite”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 16687, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
étroit is recorded at frequency rank #9,421, classified as anadj, pronounced \e.tʁwa\. étroite is at rank #7,266, tagged as anadj, pronounced \e.tʁwat\.
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 16687, this pair ranks #386,708 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of étroit vs étroite
Shared letters: iorté. Private to "étroit": -. Private to "étroite": e.
"étroit" · 6 letters · shape VCCVVC · "étroite" · 7 letters · shape VCCVVCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "étroit" and "étroite" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary French text, does "étroit" or "étroite" show up more?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "étroit" and "étroite" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "étroit" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "étroite" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #386,708 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "étroit" and "étroite" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "étreinte vs étroite". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #386,708 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.