épingle

Name: épingle, French Word Data
Creator: Wiktionary
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

\e.pɛ̃ɡl\

/\e.pɛ̃ɡl\/ noun

By PlainSpell · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) · analyzed May 6, 2026

The verdict

“épingle” has 11 generated spelling variants in the French index at frequency #14,831. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#14,831
frequency rank, French: 40,273
“É” headwords: 11
tracked misspellings: 6
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Petite tige de métal (laiton, cuivre, fer, acier, etc.) terminée par une pointe à un bout et, de l’autre, par une tête → voir tête d’épingle.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

épingle vs éponge

71% similar

épingle vs épingles

88% similar

épingle vs épingler

88% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for épingle
Property	Value
Headword	épingle
Language	French
Part of speech	Noun
IPA	\e.pɛ̃ɡl\
Letters	7
Frequency rank	#14,831
Misspellings tracked	11
Confusable pairs	6
Source	Wiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “épingle” sits in French frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). épingle lands here:

#14,831

#1#100#1K#10K#100K

← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around épingle (IPA \e.pɛ̃ɡl\), anoun. Corpus frequency is #14,831 among 40,273 “É” headwords. Wiktionary lists 9 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for épingle, with forms such as "epingle", "péingle", and "éipngle". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 6 confusable-pair relationships, "éponge", "épingles", "épingler", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

This entry's etymology isn't recorded, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct French form is épingle, spelled É-P-I-N-G-L-E.

Definition

1
Petite tige de métal (laiton, cuivre, fer, acier, etc.) terminée par une pointe à un bout et, de l’autre, par une tête → voir tête d’épingle.
2
Chose de très petite valeur.
3
Bijou en forme d’épingle, dont la tête, porte quelques pierreries ou quelque autre ornement, et qui sert aux hommes à fixer la cravate ou aux femmes à maintenir leur chapeau.
4
Offense légère, mais souvent répétée, faite à une personne. On dit « pique » aujourd'hui.
5
Dons et gratifications que l’on ajoutait au prix d’un marché, d’un service rendu.
6
Petit brin de fil d’acier qui déborde d’un câble et résulte de la rupture d’un des fils qui constitue le câble.
7
Filet de glace qui se forme dans une crème glacée.
8
Goutte de plomb fondu qui fait saillie à l’intérieur d’un tuyau du même métal à la suite d’une soudure.
9
Synonyme de trésillon.

This word in other languages

needle(English)alfiler(Español)Stecknadel(Deutsch)alfinete(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

epingle
péingle
éipngle
épignle
épingel
épinggle
épinglle
épinlge
épinngle
épnigle
éppingle

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of épingle - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

Edit distance from "épingle"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 French corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "épingle"?

"épingle" is spelled É-P-I-N-G-L-E. The IPA pronunciation is \e.pɛ̃ɡl\.

What does "épingle" mean?

As a noun, "épingle" means: Petite tige de métal (laiton, cuivre, fer, acier, etc.) terminée par une pointe à un bout et, de l’autre, par une tête → voir tête d’épingle.

What words are commonly confused with "épingle"?

"épingle" is commonly confused with "éponge", "épingles", "épingler". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.

How do you pronounce "épingle"?

The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "épingle" is \e.pɛ̃ɡl\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.

What language does "épingle" come from?

"épingle" is a French word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.

Is PlainSpell free to use?

Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “épingle”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

The one correct French spelling is É-P-I-N-G-L-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
Say it as \e.pɛ̃ɡl\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
Don't mix it up with “éponge” - see the side-by-side comparison. épingle vs éponge
Browse more French words and confusable pairs in the same reference. French words

Same frequency band

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.