Which to use
“épousa” is a verb and “épouse” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #17,600
- “épousa” frequency rank
- #2,208
- “épouse” frequency rank
- 19808
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | épousa | épouse |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Troisième personne du singulier du passé simple de épouser. | Femme, dans le mariage. |
Where the eye mixes épousa and épouse
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. épousa and épouse follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCVVCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: épousa vs épouse
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: épousa is \e.pu.za\ while épouse is \e.puz\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - a in “épousa” becomes e in “épouse”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 19808, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
épousa is recorded at frequency rank #17,600, classified as averb, pronounced \e.pu.za\. épouse is at rank #2,208, tagged as anoun, pronounced \e.puz\.
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 19808, this pair ranks #371,447 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of épousa vs épouse
Shared letters: opsué. Private to "épousa": a. Private to "épouse": e.
"épousa" · 6 letters · shape VCVVCV · "épouse" · 6 letters · shape VCVVCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "épousa" and "épouse" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "épousa" vs "épouse" - which ranks higher?
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 "épousa" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "épouse" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #371,447 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "épousa" and "épouse" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "épousa vs épousera". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #371,447 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.