Which to use
“épater” and “épiler” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #38,616
- “épater” frequency rank
- #32,250
- “épiler” frequency rank
- 70866
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | épater | épiler |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Priver de l’usage d’une patte. | Dégarnir des poils, des cheveux. |
Where the eye mixes épater and épiler
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. épater and épiler follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: épater vs épiler
A purely visual mix-up. épater (\e.pa.te\) and épiler (\e.pi.le\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 70866, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
épater is recorded at frequency rank #38,616, classified as averb, pronounced \e.pa.te\. épiler is at rank #32,250, tagged as averb, pronounced \e.pi.le\.
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 70866, this pair ranks #49,690 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of épater vs épiler
Shared letters: epré. Private to "épater": at. Private to "épiler": il.
"épater" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVC · "épiler" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "épater" and "épiler" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "épater" or "épiler"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "épater" and "épiler" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "épater" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "épiler" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #49,690 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "épater" and "épiler" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "épater vs épier". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #49,690 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.