Which to use
“écluses” and “épouses” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #30,438
- “écluses” frequency rank
- #14,832
- “épouses” frequency rank
- 45270
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | écluses | épouses |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de écluse. | Pluriel de épouse. |
Where the eye mixes écluses and épouses
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. écluses (VCCVCVC) and épouses (VCVVCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses écluses with épouses
A purely visual mix-up. écluses (\e.klyz\) and épouses (\e.puz\) 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 45270, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
écluses is recorded at frequency rank #30,438, classified as anoun, pronounced \e.klyz\. épouses is at rank #14,832, tagged as anoun, pronounced \e.puz\.
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 45270, this pair ranks #204,064 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of écluses vs épouses
Shared letters: esué. Private to "écluses": cl. Private to "épouses": op.
"écluses" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC · "épouses" · 7 letters · shape VCVVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "écluses" and "épouses" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary French text, does "écluses" or "épouses" show up more?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "écluses" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "épouses" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #204,064 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "écluses" and "épouses" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "éclipses vs écluses". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #204,064 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.