épiquesvsexpliquesWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: épiques is a adjective, expliques is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“épiques” is an adjective and “expliques” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#30,441
“épiques” frequency rank
#20,441
“expliques” frequency rank
50882
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature épiques expliques
Definition Pluriel de épique. Deuxième personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif du verbe expliquer.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set épiques and expliques apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
épiques
9 ch
expliques

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: épiques is \e.pik\ while expliques is \ɛks.plik\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 50882, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

épiques is recorded at frequency rank #30,441, classified as anadj, pronounced \e.pik\. expliques is at rank #20,441, tagged as averb, pronounced \ɛks.plik\.

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 50882, this pair ranks #159,212 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of épiques vs expliques

Shared letters: eipqsu. Private to "épiques": é. Private to "expliques": lx.

"épiques" · 7 letters · shape VCVCVVC  ·  "expliques" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • expliquesepxliques · exlpiques · expilques · expliqeus · expliqques · expliquess · expliquse · expliuqes

Frequency comparison

épiques#30,441
expliques#20,441

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "épiques" and "expliques" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "épiques" is an adjective and "expliques" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "épiques" or "expliques"?
"expliques" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #20,441 in our French list, against #30,441 for "épiques". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering épiques vs expliques

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “épiques”; for a verb, it's “expliques”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “épiques” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list