Which to use
“épier” and “exiler” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #49,447
- “épier” frequency rank
- #28,165
- “exiler” frequency rank
- 77612
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | épier | exiler |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Observer secrètement et avec attention les actions, les discours de quelqu’un, ou ce qui se passe quelque part. | Envoyer en exil. |
Where the eye mixes épier and exiler
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. épier runs 5 letters (VCVVC) against exiler's 6 (VCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: épier vs exiler
A purely visual mix-up. épier (\e.pje\) and exiler (\ɛɡ.zi.le\) 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 77612, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
épier is recorded at frequency rank #49,447, classified as averb, pronounced \e.pje\. exiler is at rank #28,165, tagged as averb, pronounced \ɛɡ.zi.le\.
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 77612, this pair ranks #27,878 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of épier vs exiler
Shared letters: eir. Private to "épier": pé. Private to "exiler": lx.
"épier" · 5 letters · shape VCVVC · "exiler" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- exiler ← eixler · exielr · exilerr · exiller · exilre · exlier · exxiler · xeiler
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "épier" and "exiler" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary French text, does "épier" or "exiler" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "épier" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "exiler" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #27,878 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "épier" and "exiler" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "einer 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 #27,878 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.