Which to use
“épais” and “épaté” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #7,019
- “épais” frequency rank
- #42,132
- “épaté” frequency rank
- 49151
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | épais | épaté |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Qui a une certaine mesure dans la dimension transversale. | Qui est aplati, écrasé. |
Where the eye mixes épais and épaté
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. épais (VCVVC) and épaté (VCVCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: épais vs épaté
A purely visual mix-up. épais (\e.pɛ\) and épaté (\e.pa.te\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49151, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
épais is recorded at frequency rank #7,019, classified as anadj, pronounced \e.pɛ\. épaté is at rank #42,132, tagged as anadj, pronounced \e.pa.te\.
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 49151, this pair ranks #173,039 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of épais vs épaté
Shared letters: apé. Private to "épais": is. Private to "épaté": t.
"épais" · 5 letters · shape VCVVC · "épaté" · 5 letters · shape VCVCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "épais" and "épaté" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "épais" vs "épaté" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "épais" and "épaté" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "épais" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "épaté" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #173,039 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "épais" and "épaté" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "épaté vs épater". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #173,039 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.