Which to use
“épouser” and “excuser” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #6,916
- “épouser” frequency rank
- #5,979
- “excuser” frequency rank
- 12895
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | épouser | excuser |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Prendre en mariage. | Disculper dans une certaine mesure, présenter une personne ou une action comme moins coupable qu’elle ne semble. |
Where the eye mixes épouser and excuser
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. épouser (VCVVCVC) and excuser (VCCVCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses épouser with excuser
A purely visual mix-up. épouser (\e.pu.ze\) and excuser (\ɛk.sky.ze\) 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 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 12895, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
épouser is recorded at frequency rank #6,916, classified as averb, pronounced \e.pu.ze\. excuser is at rank #5,979, tagged as averb, pronounced \ɛk.sky.ze\.
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 12895, this pair ranks #403,298 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of épouser vs excuser
Shared letters: ersu. Private to "épouser": opé. Private to "excuser": cx.
"épouser" · 7 letters · shape VCVVCVC · "excuser" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- excuser ← ecxuser · exccuser · excsuer · excuesr · excuserr · excusre · excusser · exucser
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "épouser" for "excuser" ever safe?
Which is more common, "épouser" or "excuser"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "épouser" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "excuser" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #403,298 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "épouser" and "excuser" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "exaucer vs excuser". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #403,298 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.