égauxvsépouxWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: égaux is a adjective, époux is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“égaux” is an adjective and “époux” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#10,428
“égaux” frequency rank
#4,819
“époux” frequency rank
15247
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature égaux époux
Definition Masculin pluriel de égal. Mari, dans le mariage.

Where the eye mixes égaux and époux

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

5 ch
égaux
5 ch
époux

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: égaux is \e.ɡo\ while époux is \e.pu\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 15247, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

égaux is recorded at frequency rank #10,428, classified as anadj, pronounced \e.ɡo\. époux is at rank #4,819, tagged as anoun, pronounced \e.pu\.

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 15247, this pair ranks #393,185 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of égaux vs époux

Shared letters: uxé. Private to "égaux": ag. Private to "époux": op.

"égaux" · 5 letters · shape VCVVC  ·  "époux" · 5 letters · shape VCVVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "égaux" and "époux" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "égaux" is an adjective and "époux" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "égaux" or "époux"?
"époux" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,819 in our French list, against #10,428 for "égaux". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

You've compared "égaux" and "époux". Here's where to go from here.

  • Full dictionary entry for "égaux" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "époux" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #393,185 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "égaux" and "époux" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "egan vs égaux". Nearby pair

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list