épilervsépinglerWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#32,250
“épiler” frequency rank
#34,370
“épingler” frequency rank
66620
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature épiler épingler
Definition Dégarnir des poils, des cheveux. Attacher avec une épingle.

Where the eye mixes épiler and épingler

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.

6 ch
épiler
8 ch
épingler

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. épiler (\e.pi.le\) and épingler (\e.pɛ̃.ɡle\) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 66620, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

épiler is recorded at frequency rank #32,250, classified as averb, pronounced \e.pi.le\. épingler is at rank #34,370, tagged as averb, pronounced \e.pɛ̃.ɡle\.

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 66620, this pair ranks #67,037 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of épiler vs épingler

Shared letters: eilpré. Private to "épiler": -. Private to "épingler": gn.

"épiler" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVC  ·  "épingler" · 8 letters · shape VCVCCCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "épiler" and "épingler" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\e.pi.le\ versus \e.pɛ̃.ɡle\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "épiler" or "épingler"?
"épiler" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #32,250 in our French list, against #34,370 for "épingler". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list