Which to use
“épuisant” is an adjective and “épuisent” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #23,431
- “épuisant” frequency rank
- #35,346
- “épuisent” frequency rank
- 58777
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | épuisant | épuisent |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Qui est propre à épuiser. | Troisième personne du pluriel du présent de l’indicatif de épuiser. |
Where the eye mixes épuisant and épuisent
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. épuisant and épuisent follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCVVCVCC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: épuisant vs épuisent
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: épuisant is \e.pɥi.zɑ̃\ while épuisent is \e.pɥiz\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - a in “épuisant” becomes e in “épuisent”, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 58777, 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\. épuisent is at rank #35,346, tagged as averb, pronounced \e.pɥiz\.
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 58777, this pair ranks #106,999 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of épuisant vs épuisent
Shared letters: inpstué. Private to "épuisant": a. Private to "épuisent": e.
"épuisant" · 8 letters · shape VCVVCVCC · "épuisent" · 8 letters · shape VCVVCVCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "épuisant" and "épuisent" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "épuisant" vs "épuisent" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "épuisant" and "épuisent" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "épuisant" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "épuisent" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #106,999 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "épuisant" and "épuisent" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "épuisante vs épuisent". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #106,999 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.