Which to use
“épiler” and “expier” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #32,250
- “épiler” frequency rank
- #43,421
- “expier” frequency rank
- 75671
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | épiler | expier |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Dégarnir des poils, des cheveux. | Réparer un crime, une faute par le repentir, ou une peine, un châtiment imposé ou accepté. |
Where the eye mixes épiler and expier
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between épiler and expier
A purely visual mix-up. épiler (\e.pi.le\) and expier (\ɛk.spje\) 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 4 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 75671, 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\. expier is at rank #43,421, tagged as averb, pronounced \ɛk.spje\.
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 75671, this pair ranks #33,362 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of épiler vs expier
Shared letters: eipr. Private to "épiler": lé. Private to "expier": x.
"épiler" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVC · "expier" · 6 letters · shape VCCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- expier ← epxier · exiper · expeir · exppier · exxpier · xepier
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "épiler" and "expier" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary French text, does "épiler" or "expier" show up more?
After this comparison
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 "expier" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #33,362 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "épiler" and "expier" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "épier vs expier". 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 #33,362 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.