Which to use
“empêche” is a noun and “empêchent” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #2,122
- “empêche” frequency rank
- #9,992
- “empêchent” frequency rank
- 12114
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | empêche | empêchent |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Personne qui porte malheur aux pêcheurs. | Troisième personne du pluriel du présent de l’indicatif de empêcher. |
Same sound, different letters: empêche vs empêchent
Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 7 letters. empêche runs 7 letters (VCCVCCV) against empêchent's 9 (VCCVCCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Homophone desk: empêche vs empêchent
Say them out loud and nothing separates them: empêche and empêchent carry the same recorded pronunciation, \ɑ̃.pɛʃ\. Grammar is what tells them apart: one is anoun, the other averb, so most sentences will only accept one of them. They differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “empêche” sits inside “empêchent”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 12114, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
empêche is recorded at frequency rank #2,122, classified as anoun, pronounced \ɑ̃.pɛʃ\. empêchent is at rank #9,992, tagged as averb, pronounced \ɑ̃.pɛʃ\.
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 12114, this pair ranks #406,522 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of empêche vs empêchent
Shared letters: cehmpê. Private to "empêche": -. Private to "empêchent": nt.
"empêche" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCV · "empêchent" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCCVCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "empêche" and "empêchent" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "empêche" or "empêchent"?
What to do next
"empêche" and "empêchent" share a sound, keep the gloss open, then jump to the headword or a nearby trap.
- Full dictionary entry for "empêche" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "empêchent" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #406,522 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "empêche" and "empêchent" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "empêchaient vs empêchent". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #406,522 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.