Which to use
“épargne” is a noun and “épargnée” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #4,636
- “épargne” frequency rank
- #27,298
- “épargnée” frequency rank
- 31934
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | épargne | épargnée |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Économie dans la dépense. | Participe passé féminin singulier de épargner. |
Where the eye mixes épargne and épargnée
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. épargne runs 7 letters (VCVCCCV) against épargnée's 8 (VCVCCCVV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between épargne and épargnée
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: épargne is \e.paʁɲ\ while épargnée is \e.paʁ.ɲe\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 31934, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
épargne is recorded at frequency rank #4,636, classified as anoun, pronounced \e.paʁɲ\. épargnée is at rank #27,298, tagged as averb, pronounced \e.paʁ.ɲe\.
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 31934, this pair ranks #300,641 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of épargne vs épargnée
Shared letters: aegnpré. Private to "épargne": -. Private to "épargnée": -.
"épargne" · 7 letters · shape VCVCCCV · "épargnée" · 8 letters · shape VCVCCCVV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "épargne" for "épargnée" ever safe?
Which is more common, "épargne" or "épargnée"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "épargne" and "épargnée" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "épargne" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "épargnée" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #300,641 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "épargne" and "épargnée" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "épargnée vs épargnez". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #300,641 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.