Which to use
“épousée” and “épouses” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #35,785
- “épousée” frequency rank
- #14,832
- “épouses” frequency rank
- 50617
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | épousée | épouses |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | ou Celle qu’un homme vient d’épouser, ou qu’il va épouser. | Pluriel de épouse. |
Where the eye mixes épousée and épouses
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. épousée (VCVVCVV) and épouses (VCVVCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between épousée and épouses
A purely visual mix-up. épousée (\e.pu.ze\) and épouses (\e.puz\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 50617, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
épousée is recorded at frequency rank #35,785, classified as anoun, pronounced \e.pu.ze\. épouses is at rank #14,832, 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 50617, this pair ranks #161,227 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of épousée vs épouses
Shared letters: eopsué. Private to "épousée": -. Private to "épouses": -.
"épousée" · 7 letters · shape VCVVCVV · "épouses" · 7 letters · shape VCVVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "épousée" for "épouses" ever safe?
In ordinary French text, does "épousée" or "épouses" 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 "épousée" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "épouses" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #161,227 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "épousée" and "épouses" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "épousée vs épousent". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #161,227 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.