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 eye mixes épiler and exiler
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. épiler and exiler follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between épiler and exiler
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": pé. Private to "exiler": x.
"épiler" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVC · "exiler" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- exiler ← eixler · exielr · exilerr · exiller · exilre · exlier · exxiler · xeiler
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "épiler" and "exiler" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "épiler" vs "exiler" - which ranks higher?
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 "épiler" 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 #97,727 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "épiler" and "exiler" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "épier vs épiler". 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 #97,727 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.