Which to use
“empêcher” and “empêchera” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,591
- “empêcher” frequency rank
- #13,586
- “empêchera” frequency rank
- 15177
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | empêcher | empêchera |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Entraver quelqu’un dans la réalisation de quelque chose. | Troisième personne du singulier du futur de empêcher. |
Where the eye mixes empêcher and empêchera
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. empêcher runs 8 letters (VCCVCCVC) against empêchera's 9 (VCCVCCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between empêcher and empêchera
A purely visual mix-up. empêcher (\ɑ̃.pe.ʃe\) and empêchera (\ɑ̃.pɛ.ʃə.ʁa\) 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 extra letter(s) - “empêcher” sits inside “empêchera”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 15177, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
empêcher is recorded at frequency rank #1,591, classified as averb, pronounced \ɑ̃.pe.ʃe\. empêchera is at rank #13,586, tagged as averb, pronounced \ɑ̃.pɛ.ʃə.ʁa\.
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 15177, this pair ranks #393,511 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of empêcher vs empêchera
Shared letters: cehmprê. Private to "empêcher": -. Private to "empêchera": a.
"empêcher" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC · "empêchera" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCCVCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "empêcher" and "empêchera" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "empêcher" or "empêchera"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "empêcher" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "empêchera" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #393,511 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "empêcher" and "empêchera" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "empêchera vs empocher". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #393,511 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.