épanouivsépanouitWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: épanoui is a adjective, épanouit is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“épanoui” is an adjective and “épanouit” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#35,344
“épanoui” frequency rank
#38,115
“épanouit” frequency rank
73459
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature épanoui épanouit
Definition Qui a un désir assouvi. Troisième personne du singulier de l’indicatif présent de épanouir.

Same sound, different letters: épanoui vs épanouit

Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 7 letters. épanoui runs 7 letters (VCVCVVV) against épanouit's 8 (VCVCVVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
épanoui
8 ch
épanouit

Same sound, different spelling - épanoui / épanouit

Say them out loud and nothing separates them: épanoui and épanouit carry the same recorded pronunciation, \e.pa.nwi\. Grammar is what tells them apart: one is anadjective, the other averb, so most sentences will only accept one of them. They differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “épanoui” sits inside “épanouit”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 73459, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

épanoui is recorded at frequency rank #35,344, classified as anadj, pronounced \e.pa.nwi\. épanouit is at rank #38,115, tagged as averb, pronounced \e.pa.nwi\.

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 73459, this pair ranks #40,397 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of épanoui vs épanouit

Shared letters: ainopué. Private to "épanoui": -. Private to "épanouit": t.

"épanoui" · 7 letters · shape VCVCVVV  ·  "épanouit" · 8 letters · shape VCVCVVVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "épanoui" and "épanouit" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "épanoui" is an adjective and "épanouit" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "épanoui" vs "épanouit" - which ranks higher?
"épanoui" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #35,344 in our French list, against #38,115 for "épanouit". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "épanoui" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "épanouit" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #40,397 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "épanoui" and "épanouit" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "épanouit vs évanouie". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #40,397 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