Which to use
“elm” and “épi” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #47,864
- “elm” frequency rank
- #26,231
- “épi” frequency rank
- 74095
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | elm | épi |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Orme. | Partie du blé et de plusieurs autres plantes graminées, qui est placée au sommet de la tige, et formée par la réunion des graines. |
Where the eye mixes elm and épi
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. No shared run - shape, not overlap, is the trap. elm (VCC) and épi (VCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: elm vs épi
A purely visual mix-up. elm (\ˈɛlm\) and épi (\e.pi\) 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 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 74095, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
elm is recorded at frequency rank #47,864, classified as anoun, pronounced \ˈɛlm\. épi is at rank #26,231, tagged as anoun, pronounced \e.pi\.
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 74095, this pair ranks #38,272 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of elm vs épi
Shared letters: none. Private to "elm": elm. Private to "épi": ipé.
"elm" · 3 letters · shape VCC · "épi" · 3 letters · shape VCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "elm" for "épi" ever safe?
Frequency check: "elm" vs "épi" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "elm" and "épi" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "elm" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "épi" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #38,272 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "elm" and "épi" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "elm vs EPO". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #38,272 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.