emparevsespèreWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“empare” and “espère” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#13,782
“empare” frequency rank
#612
“espère” frequency rank
14394
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature empare espère
Definition Première personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de emparer. Première personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de espérer.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set empare and espère apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
empare
6 ch
espère

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. empare (\ɑ̃.paʁ\) and espère (\ɛs.pɛʁ\) 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 14394, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

empare is recorded at frequency rank #13,782, classified as averb, pronounced \ɑ̃.paʁ\. espère is at rank #612, tagged as averb, pronounced \ɛs.pɛʁ\.

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 14394, this pair ranks #396,877 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of empare vs espère

Shared letters: epr. Private to "empare": am. Private to "espère": .

"empare" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV  ·  "espère" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • empareemapre · emmpare · empaer · emppare · emprae · epmare · mepare

Frequency comparison

empare#13,782
espère#612

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "empare" and "espère" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\ɑ̃.paʁ\ versus \ɛs.pɛʁ\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "empare" or "espère"?
"espère" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #612 in our French list, against #13,782 for "empare". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering empare vs espère

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “empare” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list