Which to use
“épreuves” is a noun and “éprouve” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #3,972
- “épreuves” frequency rank
- #11,509
- “éprouve” frequency rank
- 15481
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | épreuves | éprouve |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de épreuve. | Première personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de éprouver. |
Where the eye mixes épreuves and éprouve
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. épreuves runs 8 letters (VCCVVCVC) against éprouve's 7 (VCCVVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between épreuves and éprouve
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: épreuves is \e.pʁœv\ 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 15481, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
épreuves is recorded at frequency rank #3,972, classified as anoun, pronounced \e.pʁœv\. 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 15481, this pair ranks #392,174 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of épreuves vs éprouve
Shared letters: epruvé. Private to "épreuves": s. Private to "éprouve": o.
"épreuves" · 8 letters · shape VCCVVCVC · "éprouve" · 7 letters · shape VCCVVCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "épreuves" for "éprouve" ever safe?
Frequency check: "épreuves" vs "éprouve" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "épreuves" 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 #392,174 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "épreuves" and "éprouve" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "écroué vs éprouve". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #392,174 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.