épaisseurvsépaisseursWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#6,455
“épaisseur” frequency rank
#37,617
“épaisseurs” frequency rank
44072
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature épaisseur épaisseurs
Definition Qualité de ce qui est épais. Pluriel de épaisseur.

Same sound, different letters: épaisseur vs épaisseurs

Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 9 letters. épaisseur runs 9 letters (VCVVCCVVC) against épaisseurs's 10 (VCVVCCVVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

9 ch
épaisseur
10 ch
épaisseurs

Ear matches; page differs - épaisseur and épaisseurs

This is the hard kind. épaisseur and épaisseurs are pronounced identically (\e.pɛ.sœʁ\) and both work as anoun. Neither the ear nor the grammar will rescue you; only the meaning does, so the glosses below are the whole decision. They differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “épaisseur” sits inside “épaisseurs”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 44072, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

épaisseur is recorded at frequency rank #6,455, classified as anoun, pronounced \e.pɛ.sœʁ\. épaisseurs is at rank #37,617, tagged as anoun, pronounced \e.pɛ.sœʁ\.

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 44072, this pair ranks #213,274 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of épaisseur vs épaisseurs

Shared letters: aeiprsué. Private to "épaisseur": -. Private to "épaisseurs": -.

"épaisseur" · 9 letters · shape VCVVCCVVC  ·  "épaisseurs" · 10 letters · shape VCVVCCVVCC

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "épaisseur" for "épaisseurs" ever safe?
No. They are pronounced the same (\e.pɛ.sœʁ\), which is exactly why they get swapped in writing, but the dictionary meanings above are different, and pronunciation is no guide here.
Frequency check: "épaisseur" vs "épaisseurs" - which ranks higher?
"épaisseur" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,455 in our French list, against #37,617 for "épaisseurs". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Sound matches; spelling doesn't. Use the exits below to lock the right form or check a cousin pair.

  • Full dictionary entry for "épaisseur" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "épaisseurs" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #213,274 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "épaisseur" and "épaisseurs" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "épaisses vs épaisseurs". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #213,274 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list