Which to use
“épicée” is an adjective and “épicier” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #40,088
- “épicée” frequency rank
- #26,232
- “épicier” frequency rank
- 66320
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | épicée | épicier |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Féminin singulier de épicé. | Commerçant qui tient une épicerie. |
Where the eye mixes épicée and épicier
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. épicée runs 6 letters (VCVCVV) against épicier's 7 (VCVCVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between épicée and épicier
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: épicée is \e.pi.se\ while épicier is \e.pi.sje\. 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 66320, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
épicée is recorded at frequency rank #40,088, classified as anadj, pronounced \e.pi.se\. épicier is at rank #26,232, tagged as anoun, pronounced \e.pi.sje\.
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 66320, this pair ranks #68,340 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of épicée vs épicier
Shared letters: ceipé. Private to "épicée": -. Private to "épicier": r.
"épicée" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVV · "épicier" · 7 letters · shape VCVCVVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "épicée" for "épicier" ever safe?
Which is more common, "épicée" or "épicier"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "épicée" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "épicier" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #68,340 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "épicée" and "épicier" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "épicée vs épier". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #68,340 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.