empilésvsépicesWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: empilés is a verb, épices is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“empilés” is a verb and “épices” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#46,138
“empilés” frequency rank
#12,088
“épices” frequency rank
58226
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature empilés épices
Definition Participe passé masculin pluriel de empiler. Émolument qui était dû aux juges pendant un procès. Forme elliptique de épices des juges.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set empilés and épices apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
empilés
6 ch
épices

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: empilés is \ɑ̃.pi.le\ while épices is \e.pis\. 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 noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 58226, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

empilés is recorded at frequency rank #46,138, classified as averb, pronounced \ɑ̃.pi.le\. épices is at rank #12,088, tagged as anoun, pronounced \e.pis\.

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 58226, this pair ranks #110,283 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of empilés vs épices

Shared letters: eipsé. Private to "empilés": lm. Private to "épices": c.

"empilés" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC  ·  "épices" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVC

Frequency comparison

empilés#46,138
épices#12,088

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "empilés" and "épices" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "empilés" is a verb and "épices" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "empilés" or "épices"?
"épices" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,088 in our French list, against #46,138 for "empilés". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering empilés vs épices

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “empilés”; for a noun, it's “épices”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “empilés” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list