épargnevsépargnentWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: épargne is a noun, épargnent is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“épargne” is a noun and “épargnent” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#4,636
“épargne” frequency rank
#47,120
“épargnent” frequency rank
51756
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature épargne épargnent
Definition Économie dans la dépense. Troisième personne du pluriel du présent de l’indicatif de épargner.

Same sound, different letters: épargne vs épargnent

Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 7 letters. épargne runs 7 letters (VCVCCCV) against épargnent's 9 (VCVCCCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
épargne
9 ch
épargnent

Homophone desk: épargne vs épargnent

Say them out loud and nothing separates them: épargne and épargnent carry the same recorded pronunciation, \e.paʁɲ\. Grammar is what tells them apart: one is anoun, the other averb, so most sentences will only accept one of them. They differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “épargne” sits inside “épargnent”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 51756, 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\. épargnent is at rank #47,120, tagged as averb, pronounced \e.paʁɲ\.

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 51756, this pair ranks #152,698 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of épargne vs épargnent

Shared letters: aegnpré. Private to "épargne": -. Private to "épargnent": t.

"épargne" · 7 letters · shape VCVCCCV  ·  "épargnent" · 9 letters · shape VCVCCCVCC

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "épargne" and "épargnent" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "épargne" is a noun and "épargnent" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "épargne" or "épargnent"?
"épargne" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,636 in our French list, against #47,120 for "épargnent". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

After this comparison

You've separated the homophone pair "épargne" / "épargnent". Follow the links when you need the full entry or a neighbour that trips the same ear.

  • Full dictionary entry for "épargne" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "épargnent" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #152,698 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "épargne" and "épargnent" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "épargnent vs épargnez". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #152,698 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