Which to use
“épuisant” and “épuisante” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #23,431
- “épuisant” frequency rank
- #49,448
- “épuisante” frequency rank
- 72879
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | épuisant | épuisante |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Qui est propre à épuiser. | Féminin singulier de épuisant. |
Where the eye mixes épuisant and épuisante
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. épuisant runs 8 letters (VCVVCVCC) against épuisante's 9 (VCVVCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between épuisant and épuisante
A purely visual mix-up. épuisant (\e.pɥi.zɑ̃\) and épuisante (\e.pɥi.zɑ̃t\) 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) - “épuisant” sits inside “épuisante”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 72879, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
épuisant is recorded at frequency rank #23,431, classified as anadj, pronounced \e.pɥi.zɑ̃\. épuisante is at rank #49,448, tagged as anadj, pronounced \e.pɥi.zɑ̃t\.
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 72879, this pair ranks #42,438 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of épuisant vs épuisante
Shared letters: ainpstué. Private to "épuisant": -. Private to "épuisante": e.
"épuisant" · 8 letters · shape VCVVCVCC · "épuisante" · 9 letters · shape VCVVCVCCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "épuisant" and "épuisante" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary French text, does "épuisant" or "épuisante" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "épuisant" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "épuisante" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #42,438 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "épuisant" and "épuisante" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "épuisante vs épuisent". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #42,438 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.