Which to use
“épouse” is a noun and “éprouve” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #2,208
- “épouse” frequency rank
- #11,509
- “éprouve” frequency rank
- 13717
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | épouse | éprouve |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Femme, dans le mariage. | Première personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de éprouver. |
Where the eye mixes épouse and éprouve
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. épouse runs 6 letters (VCVVCV) against éprouve's 7 (VCCVVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: épouse vs éprouve
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: épouse is \e.puz\ while éprouve is \e.pʁuv\. 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 verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 13717, 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\. éprouve is at rank #11,509, tagged as averb, pronounced \e.pʁuv\.
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 13717, this pair ranks #399,831 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of épouse vs éprouve
Shared letters: eopué. Private to "épouse": s. Private to "éprouve": rv.
"épouse" · 6 letters · shape VCVVCV · "éprouve" · 7 letters · shape VCCVVCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "épouse" and "éprouve" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "épouse" vs "éprouve" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
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 "éprouve" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #399,831 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "épouse" and "éprouve" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "écroué vs éprouve". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #399,831 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.