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 eye mixes ems and épis
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence. ems runs 3 letters (VCC) against épis's 4 (VCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses ems with épis
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
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "ems" and "épis" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "ems" or "épis"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "ems" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "épis" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #88,556 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ems" and "épis" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "émit vs ems". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #88,556 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.