épargnentvsépargnesTell them apart

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

Which to use

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

#47,120
“épargnent” frequency rank
#43,744
“épargnes” frequency rank
90864
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature épargnent épargnes
Definition Troisième personne du pluriel du présent de l’indicatif de épargner. Pluriel de épargne.

Same sound, different letters: épargnent vs épargnes

Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 7 letters. épargnent runs 9 letters (VCVCCCVCC) against épargnes's 8 (VCVCCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

9 ch
épargnent
8 ch
épargnes

Same sound, different spelling - épargnent / épargnes

Say them out loud and nothing separates them: épargnent and épargnes carry the same recorded pronunciation, \e.paʁɲ\. Grammar is what tells them apart: one is averb, the other anoun, so most sentences will only accept one of them. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 90864, 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\. épargnes is at rank #43,744, tagged as anoun, 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 90864, this pair ranks #4,383 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of épargnent vs épargnes

Shared letters: aegnpré. Private to "épargnent": t. Private to "épargnes": s.

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

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "épargnent" and "épargnes" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "épargnent" is a verb and "épargnes" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary French text, does "épargnent" or "épargnes" show up more?
"épargnes" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #43,744 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.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "épargnent" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "épargnes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #4,383 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "épargnent" and "épargnes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "épargnent vs épargnez". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #4,383 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