Which to use
“empêcha” is a verb and “empêchée” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #34,520
- “empêcha” frequency rank
- #29,758
- “empêchée” frequency rank
- 64278
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | empêcha | empêchée |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Troisième personne du singulier du passé simple de empêcher. | Féminin singulier de empêché. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set empêcha and empêchée apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: empêcha is \ɑ̃.pɛ.ʃa\ while empêchée is \ɑ̃.pɛ.ʃe\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 64278, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
empêcha is recorded at frequency rank #34,520, classified as averb, pronounced \ɑ̃.pɛ.ʃa\. empêchée is at rank #29,758, tagged as anadj, pronounced \ɑ̃.pɛ.ʃe\.
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 64278, this pair ranks #77,828 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of empêcha vs empêchée
Shared letters: cehmpê. Private to "empêcha": a. Private to "empêchée": é.
"empêcha" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCV · "empêchée" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVV
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "empêcha" and "empêchée" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "empêcha" or "empêchée"?
Remembering empêcha vs empêchée
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “empêcha”; for an adjective, it's “empêchée”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “empêcha” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable