épargnentvsépargnerTell them apart

Which to use

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

#47,120
“épargnent” frequency rank
#10,620
“épargner” frequency rank
57740
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature épargnent épargner
Definition Troisième personne du pluriel du présent de l’indicatif de épargner. Ménager quelque chose, ne l’employer qu’avec réserve.

Where the eye mixes épargnent and épargner

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. épargnent runs 9 letters (VCVCCCVCC) against épargner's 8 (VCVCCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

9 ch
épargnent
8 ch
épargner

Visual trap between épargnent and épargner

A purely visual mix-up. épargnent (\e.paʁɲ\) and épargner (\e.paʁ.ɲe\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 57740, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

épargnent is recorded at frequency rank #47,120, classified as averb, pronounced \e.paʁɲ\. épargner is at rank #10,620, 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 57740, this pair ranks #113,252 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of épargnent vs épargner

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

"épargnent" · 9 letters · shape VCVCCCVCC  ·  "épargner" · 8 letters · shape VCVCCCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "épargnent" for "épargner" ever safe?
No. They are said differently (\e.paʁɲ\ versus \e.paʁ.ɲe\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "épargnent" or "épargner"?
"épargner" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,620 in our French list, against #47,120 for "épargnent". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "épargnent" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "épargner" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #113,252 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "épargnent" and "épargner" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "épargnent vs épargnez". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #113,252 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