Which to use
“empoisonner” and “emprisonner” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #25,640
- “empoisonner” frequency rank
- #25,641
- “emprisonner” frequency rank
- 51281
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | empoisonner | emprisonner |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Faire mourir ou essayer de faire mourir par le poison. | Mettre en prison. |
Where the eye mixes empoisonner and emprisonner
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence. empoisonner (VCCVVCVCCVC) and emprisonner (VCCCVCVCCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: empoisonner vs emprisonner
A purely visual mix-up. empoisonner (\ɑ̃.pwa.zɔ.ne\) and emprisonner (\ɑ̃.pʁi.zɔ.ne\) 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 a single letter - o in “empoisonner” becomes r in “emprisonner”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 51281, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
empoisonner is recorded at frequency rank #25,640, classified as averb, pronounced \ɑ̃.pwa.zɔ.ne\. emprisonner is at rank #25,641, tagged as averb, pronounced \ɑ̃.pʁi.zɔ.ne\.
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 51281, this pair ranks #156,219 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of empoisonner vs emprisonner
Shared letters: eimnoprs. Private to "empoisonner": -. Private to "emprisonner": -.
"empoisonner" · 11 letters · shape VCCVVCVCCVC · "emprisonner" · 11 letters · shape VCCCVCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- empoisonner ← emmpoisonner · emopisonner · empiosonner · empoiosnner · empoisnoner · empoisonenr · empoisoner · empoisonnerr
- emprisonner ← emmprisonner · empirsonner · empprisonner · empriosnner · emprisnoner · emprisonenr · emprisoner · emprisonnerr
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "empoisonner" and "emprisonner" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "empoisonner" vs "emprisonner" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "empoisonner" and "emprisonner" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "empoisonner" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "emprisonner" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #156,219 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "empoisonner" and "emprisonner" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "emprisonne vs emprisonner". 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 #156,219 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.