Which to use
“épingle” is a noun and “espiègle” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #14,831
- “épingle” frequency rank
- #36,830
- “espiègle” frequency rank
- 51661
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | épingle | espiègle |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Petite tige de métal (laiton, cuivre, fer, acier, etc.) terminée par une pointe à un bout et, de l’autre, par une tête → voir tête d’épingle. | Qui est vif et malicieux mais sans méchanceté. |
Where the eye mixes épingle and espiègle
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. épingle runs 7 letters (VCVCCCV) against espiègle's 8 (VCCVVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between épingle and espiègle
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: épingle is \e.pɛ̃ɡl\ while espiègle is \ɛs.pjɛɡl\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 51661, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
épingle is recorded at frequency rank #14,831, classified as anoun, pronounced \e.pɛ̃ɡl\. espiègle is at rank #36,830, tagged as anadj, pronounced \ɛs.pjɛɡl\.
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 51661, this pair ranks #153,369 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of épingle vs espiègle
Shared letters: egilp. Private to "épingle": né. Private to "espiègle": sè.
"épingle" · 7 letters · shape VCVCCCV · "espiègle" · 8 letters · shape VCCVVCCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "épingle" and "espiègle" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "épingle" vs "espiègle" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "épingle" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "espiègle" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #153,369 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "épingle" and "espiègle" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Épinal vs épingle". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #153,369 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.