Which to use
“épouse” is a noun and “éprise” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #2,208
- “épouse” frequency rank
- #48,285
- “éprise” frequency rank
- 50493
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | épouse | éprise |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Femme, dans le mariage. | Féminin singulier de épris. |
Where the eye mixes épouse and éprise
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. épouse (VCVVCV) and éprise (VCCVCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses épouse with éprise
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: épouse is \e.puz\ while éprise is \e.pʁiz\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 50493, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
épouse is recorded at frequency rank #2,208, classified as anoun, pronounced \e.puz\. éprise is at rank #48,285, tagged as anadj, pronounced \e.pʁiz\.
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 50493, this pair ranks #162,192 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of épouse vs éprise
Shared letters: epsé. Private to "épouse": ou. Private to "éprise": ir.
"épouse" · 6 letters · shape VCVVCV · "éprise" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "épouse" and "éprise" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary French text, does "épouse" or "éprise" show up more?
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 "épouse" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "éprise" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #162,192 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "épouse" and "éprise" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "écrie vs éprise". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #162,192 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.