Which to use
“épi” and “era” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #26,231
- “épi” frequency rank
- #22,849
- “era” frequency rank
- 49080
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | épi | era |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Partie du blé et de plusieurs autres plantes graminées, qui est placée au sommet de la tige, et formée par la réunion des graines. | Ère. |
Where the eye mixes épi and era
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. No shared run - shape, not overlap, is the trap. épi and era follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses épi with era
A purely visual mix-up. épi (\e.pi\) and era (\ˈɛɹ.ə\) 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 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49080, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
épi is recorded at frequency rank #26,231, classified as anoun, pronounced \e.pi\. era is at rank #22,849, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ˈɛɹ.ə\.
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 49080, this pair ranks #173,632 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of épi vs era
Shared letters: none. Private to "épi": ipé. Private to "era": aer.
"épi" · 3 letters · shape VCV · "era" · 3 letters · shape VCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "épi" and "era" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary French text, does "épi" or "era" show up more?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "épi" and "era" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "épi" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "era" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #173,632 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "épi" and "era" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "épi vs épier". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #173,632 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.