épicévsexigeWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: épicé is a adjective, exige is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“épicé” is an adjective and “exige” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#25,865
“épicé” frequency rank
#4,858
“exige” frequency rank
30723
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature épicé exige
Definition Assaisonné avec des épices. Première personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de exiger.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set épicé and exige apart are highlighted. They share 1 letter in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
épicé
5 ch
exige

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: épicé is \e.pi.se\ while exige is \ɛɡ.ziʒ\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 4 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 30723, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

épicé is recorded at frequency rank #25,865, classified as anadj, pronounced \e.pi.se\. exige is at rank #4,858, tagged as averb, pronounced \ɛɡ.ziʒ\.

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 30723, this pair ranks #308,379 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of épicé vs exige

Shared letters: i. Private to "épicé": cpé. Private to "exige": egx.

"épicé" · 5 letters · shape VCVCV  ·  "exige" · 5 letters · shape VCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • exigeeixge · exgie · exieg · exigge · exxige · xeige

Frequency comparison

épicé#25,865
exige#4,858

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "épicé" and "exige" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "épicé" is an adjective and "exige" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "épicé" or "exige"?
"exige" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,858 in our French list, against #25,865 for "épicé". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering épicé vs exige

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “épicé”; for a verb, it's “exige”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “épicé” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list