épivsezTell them apart

Quick tell: épi is a noun, ez is a preposition, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“épi” is a noun and “ez” is a preposition - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#26,231
“épi” frequency rank
#24,587
“ez” frequency rank
50818
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature épi ez
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. Dans les ; en les.

Letter map: épi vs ez

Shared letters muted; letters that set épi and ez apart highlighted. No shared letter run. épi runs 3 letters (VCV) against ez's 2 (VC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

3 ch
épi
2 ch
ez

Grammar separator: épi vs ez

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: épi is anoun and ezapreposition. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 50818, 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\. ez is at rank #24,587, tagged as aprep.

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 50818, this pair ranks #159,697 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of épi vs ez

Shared letters: none. Private to "épi": ipé. Private to "ez": ez.

"épi" · 3 letters · shape VCV  ·  "ez" · 2 letters · shape VC

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "épi" and "ez" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "épi" is a noun and "ez" a preposition, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "épi" vs "ez" - which ranks higher?
"ez" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #24,587 in our French list, against #26,231 for "épi". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Done with this confusable. These links stay specific to "épi" and "ez".

  • Full dictionary entry for "épi" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "ez" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #159,697 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "épi" and "ez" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "épi vs épier". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #159,697 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