Which to use
“éprouve” and “éprouver” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #11,509
- “éprouve” frequency rank
- #16,043
- “éprouver” frequency rank
- 27552
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | éprouve | éprouver |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Première personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de éprouver. | Tester un objet pour se rendre compte s’il a toutes les qualités voulues. |
Where the eye mixes éprouve and éprouver
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. éprouve runs 7 letters (VCCVVCV) against éprouver's 8 (VCCVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between éprouve and éprouver
A purely visual mix-up. éprouve (\e.pʁuv\) and éprouver (\e.pʁu.ve\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “éprouve” sits inside “éprouver”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 27552, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
éprouve is recorded at frequency rank #11,509, classified as averb, pronounced \e.pʁuv\. éprouver is at rank #16,043, tagged as averb, pronounced \e.pʁu.ve\.
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 27552, this pair ranks #328,244 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of éprouve vs éprouver
Shared letters: eopruvé. Private to "éprouve": -. Private to "éprouver": -.
"éprouve" · 7 letters · shape VCCVVCV · "éprouver" · 8 letters · shape VCCVVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "éprouve" for "éprouver" ever safe?
In ordinary French text, does "éprouve" or "éprouver" show up more?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "éprouve" and "éprouver" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "éprouve" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "éprouver" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #328,244 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "éprouve" and "éprouver" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "écroué vs éprouve". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #328,244 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.