emsvsépisWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“ems” and “épis” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#35,925
“ems” frequency rank
#26,234
“épis” frequency rank
62159
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ems épis
Definition Pluriel de em. Pluriel de épi.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set ems and épis apart are highlighted. They share 1 letter in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch
ems
4 ch
épis

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. ems (\ɛm\) and épis (\e.pi\) 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 62159, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ems is recorded at frequency rank #35,925, classified as anoun, pronounced \ɛm\. épis is at rank #26,234, tagged as anoun, pronounced \e.pi\.

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 62159, this pair ranks #88,556 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of ems vs épis

Shared letters: s. Private to "ems": em. Private to "épis": ipé.

"ems" · 3 letters · shape VCC  ·  "épis" · 4 letters · shape VCVC

Frequency comparison

ems#35,925
épis#26,234

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "ems" and "épis" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\ɛm\ versus \e.pi\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "ems" or "épis"?
"épis" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #26,234 in our French list, against #35,925 for "ems". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering ems vs épis

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “ems” 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