Which to use
“épaté” is an adjective and “épaule” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #42,132
- “épaté” frequency rank
- #4,542
- “épaule” frequency rank
- 46674
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | épaté | épaule |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Qui est aplati, écrasé. | Partie du corps qui attache au cou l’articulation du bras chez l’être humain et du membre antérieur chez les quadrupèdes ; articulation qui relie l'arrière-bras au tronc. |
Where the eye mixes épaté and épaule
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. épaté runs 5 letters (VCVCV) against épaule's 6 (VCVVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: épaté vs épaule
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: épaté is \e.pa.te\ while épaule is \e.pol\. 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 (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46674, 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\. épaule is at rank #4,542, tagged as anoun, pronounced \e.pol\.
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 46674, this pair ranks #193,056 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of épaté vs épaule
Shared letters: apé. Private to "épaté": t. Private to "épaule": elu.
"épaté" · 5 letters · shape VCVCV · "épaule" · 6 letters · shape VCVVCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "épaté" for "épaule" ever safe?
In ordinary French text, does "épaté" or "épaule" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "épaté" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "épaule" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #193,056 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "épaté" and "épaule" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "épaté vs épater". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #193,056 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.