épicesvsespacesConfusable pair

Which to use

“épices” and “espaces” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#12,088
“épices” frequency rank
#3,253
“espaces” frequency rank
15341
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature épices espaces
Definition Émolument qui était dû aux juges pendant un procès. Forme elliptique de épices des juges. Pluriel de espace.

Where the eye mixes épices and espaces

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. épices runs 6 letters (VCVCVC) against espaces's 7 (VCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
épices
7 ch
espaces

Visual trap between épices and espaces

A purely visual mix-up. épices (\e.pis\) and espaces (\ɛs.pas\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 15341, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

épices is recorded at frequency rank #12,088, classified as anoun, pronounced \e.pis\. espaces is at rank #3,253, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ɛs.pas\.

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 15341, this pair ranks #392,776 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of épices vs espaces

Shared letters: ceps. Private to "épices": ié. Private to "espaces": a.

"épices" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVC  ·  "espaces" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • espaces ← epsaces · esapces · espacces · espacess · espacse · espaecs · espcaes · esppaces

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "épices" and "espaces" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently (\e.pis\ versus \ɛs.pas\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "épices" or "espaces"?
"espaces" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,253 in our French list, against #12,088 for "épices". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "épices" and "espaces" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "épices" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "espaces" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #392,776 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "épices" and "espaces" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "épices vs épier". Nearby pair
  • Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes

Confusion rank #392,776 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