épousavsépouseraWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

“épousa” and “épousera” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#17,600
“épousa” frequency rank
#37,621
“épousera” frequency rank
55221
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature épousa épousera
Definition Troisième personne du singulier du passé simple de épouser. Troisième personne du singulier du futur de épouser.

Where the eye mixes épousa and épousera

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. épousa runs 6 letters (VCVVCV) against épousera's 8 (VCVVCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
épousa
8 ch
épousera

Visual trap between épousa and épousera

A purely visual mix-up. épousa (\e.pu.za\) and épousera (\e.pu.zə.ʁa\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 55221, 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\. épousera is at rank #37,621, tagged as averb, pronounced \e.pu.zə.ʁa\.

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 55221, this pair ranks #128,867 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of épousa vs épousera

Shared letters: aopsué. Private to "épousa": -. Private to "épousera": er.

"épousa" · 6 letters · shape VCVVCV  ·  "épousera" · 8 letters · shape VCVVCVCV

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "épousa" and "épousera" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\e.pu.za\ versus \e.pu.zə.ʁa\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "épousa" vs "épousera" - which ranks higher?
"épousa" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #17,600 in our French list, against #37,621 for "épousera". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "épousa" and "épousera" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "épousa" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "épousera" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #128,867 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "épousa" and "épousera" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "épousera vs exposera". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #128,867 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list