épousentvsépousesTell them apart

Quick tell: épousent is a verb, épouses is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“épousent” is a verb and “épouses” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#45,968
“épousent” frequency rank
#14,832
“épouses” frequency rank
60800
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature épousent épouses
Definition Troisième personne du pluriel du présent de l’indicatif de épouser. Pluriel de épouse.

Same sound, different letters: épousent vs épouses

Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 6 letters. épousent runs 8 letters (VCVVCVCC) against épouses's 7 (VCVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
épousent
7 ch
épouses

Ear matches; page differs - épousent and épouses

Say them out loud and nothing separates them: épousent and épouses carry the same recorded pronunciation, \e.puz\. Grammar is what tells them apart: one is averb, the other anoun, so most sentences will only accept one of them. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 60800, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

épousent is recorded at frequency rank #45,968, classified as averb, pronounced \e.puz\. 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 60800, this pair ranks #95,699 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of épousent vs épouses

Shared letters: eopsué. Private to "épousent": nt. Private to "épouses": -.

"épousent" · 8 letters · shape VCVVCVCC  ·  "épouses" · 7 letters · shape VCVVCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "épousent" and "épouses" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "épousent" is a verb and "épouses" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "épousent" vs "épouses" - which ranks higher?
"épouses" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #14,832 in our French list, against #45,968 for "épousent". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

You've separated the homophone pair "épousent" / "épouses". Follow the links when you need the full entry or a neighbour that trips the same ear.

  • Full dictionary entry for "épousent" 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 #95,699 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "épousent" and "épouses" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "épousent vs excusent". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #95,699 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