épilervsexilerWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#32,250
“épiler” frequency rank
#28,165
“exiler” frequency rank
60415
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature épiler exiler
Definition Dégarnir des poils, des cheveux. Envoyer en exil.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set épiler and exiler apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
épiler
6 ch
exiler

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. épiler (\e.pi.le\) 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 share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 60415, 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\. 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 60415, this pair ranks #97,727 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of épiler vs exiler

Shared letters: eilr. Private to "épiler": . Private to "exiler": x.

"épiler" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVC  ·  "exiler" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • exilereixler · exielr · exilerr · exiller · exilre · exlier · exxiler · xeiler

Frequency comparison

épiler#32,250
exiler#28,165

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "épiler" and "exiler" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\e.pi.le\ versus \ɛɡ.zi.le\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "épiler" or "exiler"?
"exiler" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #28,165 in our French list, against #32,250 for "épiler". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering épiler vs exiler

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “épiler” 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