Which to use
“élèves” and “épées” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,195
- “élèves” frequency rank
- #18,628
- “épées” frequency rank
- 19823
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | élèves | épées |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de élève. | Pluriel de épée. |
Where the eye mixes élèves and épées
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between élèves and épées
A purely visual mix-up. élèves (\e.lɛv\) and épées (\e.pe\) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 19823, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
élèves is recorded at frequency rank #1,195, classified as anoun, pronounced \e.lɛv\. épées is at rank #18,628, tagged as anoun, pronounced \e.pe\.
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 19823, this pair ranks #371,354 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of élèves vs épées
Shared letters: esé. Private to "élèves": lvè. Private to "épées": p.
"élèves" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVC · "épées" · 5 letters · shape VCVVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "élèves" for "épées" ever safe?
In ordinary French text, does "élèves" or "épées" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "élèves" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "épées" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #371,354 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "élèves" and "épées" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "épées vs épier". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #371,354 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.