Which to use
“scala” and “scale” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #36,587
- “scala” frequency rank
- #43,661
- “scale” frequency rank
- 80248
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | scala | scale |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Troisième personne du singulier du passé simple de scaler. | Première personne du singulier de l’indicatif présent de scaler. |
Where the eye mixes scala and scale
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between scala and scale
A purely visual mix-up. scala (\ska.la\) and scale (\skal\) 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 a single letter - a in “scala” becomes e in “scale”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 80248, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
scala is recorded at frequency rank #36,587, classified as averb, pronounced \ska.la\. scale is at rank #43,661, tagged as averb, pronounced \skal\.
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 80248, this pair ranks #21,445 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of scala vs scale
Shared letters: acls. Private to "scala": -. Private to "scale": e.
"scala" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV · "scale" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "scala" for "scale" ever safe?
In ordinary French text, does "scala" or "scale" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "scala" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "scale" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #21,445 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "scala" and "scale" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "scale vs stase". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #21,445 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.