Which to use
“empêcher” and “empoche” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,591
- “empêcher” frequency rank
- #43,408
- “empoche” frequency rank
- 44999
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | empêcher | empoche |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Entraver quelqu’un dans la réalisation de quelque chose. | Première personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de empocher. |
Where the eye mixes empêcher and empoche
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. empêcher runs 8 letters (VCCVCCVC) against empoche's 7 (VCCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses empêcher with empoche
A purely visual mix-up. empêcher (\ɑ̃.pe.ʃe\) and empoche (\ɑ̃.pɔʃ\) 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 44999, 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\. empoche is at rank #43,408, tagged as averb, pronounced \ɑ̃.pɔʃ\.
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 44999, this pair ranks #206,176 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of empêcher vs empoche
Shared letters: cehmp. Private to "empêcher": rê. Private to "empoche": o.
"empêcher" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC · "empoche" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- empoche ← emmpoche · emopche · empcohe · empocche · empoceh · empochhe · empohce · emppoche
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "empêcher" and "empoche" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "empêcher" vs "empoche" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "empêcher" and "empoche" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "empêcher" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "empoche" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #206,176 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "empêcher" and "empoche" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "empoche vs empocher". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #206,176 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.