empêcha vs empêcher, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#34,520
“empêcha” frequency rank: #1,591
“empêcher” frequency rank: 36111
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	empêcha	empêcher
Definition	Troisième personne du singulier du passé simple de empêcher.	Entraver quelqu’un dans la réalisation de quelque chose.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set empêcha and empêcher apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch

empêcha

8 ch

empêcher

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. empêcha (\ɑ̃.pɛ.ʃa\) and empêcher (\ɑ̃.pe.ʃe\) 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 36111, 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\. empêcher is at rank #1,591, tagged as averb, pronounced \ɑ̃.pe.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 36111, this pair ranks #271,926 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of empêcha vs empêcher

Shared letters: cehmpê. Private to "empêcha": a. Private to "empêcher": r.

"empêcha" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCV · "empêcher" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC

Frequency comparison

empêcha#34,520

empêcher#1,591

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "empêcha" and "empêcher" be used interchangeably?

No. They are said differently (\ɑ̃.pɛ.ʃa\ versus \ɑ̃.pe.ʃe\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.

Which is more common, "empêcha" or "empêcher"?

"empêcher" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,591 in our French list, against #34,520 for "empêcha". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering empêcha vs empêcher

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 “empêcha” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable