Which to use
“épine” and “épines” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #20,328
- “épine” frequency rank
- #19,722
- “épines” frequency rank
- 40050
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | épine | épines |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Branche, feuille, stipule ou partie de feuille transformée en un organe allongé et piquant ; par opposition à l’aiguillon. | Pluriel de épine. |
Same sound, different letters: épine vs épines
Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 5 letters. épine runs 5 letters (VCVCV) against épines's 6 (VCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Homophone desk: épine vs épines
This is the hard kind. épine and épines are pronounced identically (\e.pin\) and both work as anoun. Neither the ear nor the grammar will rescue you; only the meaning does, so the glosses below are the whole decision. They differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “épine” sits inside “épines”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40050, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
épine is recorded at frequency rank #20,328, classified as anoun, pronounced \e.pin\. épines is at rank #19,722, tagged as anoun, pronounced \e.pin\.
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 40050, this pair ranks #243,419 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of épine vs épines
Shared letters: einpé. Private to "épine": -. Private to "épines": s.
"épine" · 5 letters · shape VCVCV · "épines" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "épine" and "épines" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "épine" or "épines"?
What to do next
Sound matches; spelling doesn't. Use the exits below to lock the right form or check a cousin pair.
- Full dictionary entry for "épine" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "épines" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #243,419 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "épine" and "épines" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "épier vs épine". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #243,419 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.