Which to use
“épaté” is an adjective and “épater” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #42,132
- “épaté” frequency rank
- #38,616
- “épater” frequency rank
- 80748
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | épaté | épater |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Qui est aplati, écrasé. | Priver de l’usage d’une patte. |
Same sound, different letters: épaté vs épater
Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 4 letters. épaté runs 5 letters (VCVCV) against épater's 6 (VCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Ear matches; page differs - épaté and épater
Say them out loud and nothing separates them: épaté and épater carry the same recorded pronunciation, \e.pa.te\. 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 80748, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
épaté is recorded at frequency rank #42,132, classified as anadj, pronounced \e.pa.te\. épater is at rank #38,616, tagged as averb, pronounced \e.pa.te\.
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 80748, this pair ranks #20,246 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of épaté vs épater
Shared letters: apté. Private to "épaté": -. Private to "épater": er.
"épaté" · 5 letters · shape VCVCV · "épater" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "épaté" for "épater" ever safe?
In ordinary French text, does "épaté" or "épater" show up more?
What to do next
"épaté" and "épater" share a sound, keep the gloss open, then jump to the headword or a nearby trap.
- Full dictionary entry for "épaté" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "épater" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #20,246 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "épaté" and "épater" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "épater vs épier". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #20,246 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.