épuisévsépuiserWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: épuisé is a adjective, épuiser is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“épuisé” is an adjective and “épuiser” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#9,259
“épuisé” frequency rank
#24,455
“épuiser” frequency rank
33714
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature épuisé épuiser
Definition (En parlant d’un gisement, d’une source) Qui ne contient plus de produit exploitable. Mettre à sec en puisant, tarir.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set épuisé and épuiser apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
épuisé
7 ch
épuiser

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Say them out loud and nothing separates them: épuisé and épuiser carry the same recorded pronunciation, \e.pɥi.ze\. Grammar is what tells them apart: one is anadjective, the other averb, so most sentences will only accept one of them. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 33714, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

épuisé is recorded at frequency rank #9,259, classified as anadj, pronounced \e.pɥi.ze\. épuiser is at rank #24,455, tagged as averb, pronounced \e.pɥi.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 33714, this pair ranks #288,790 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of épuisé vs épuiser

Shared letters: ipsué. Private to "épuisé": -. Private to "épuiser": er.

"épuisé" · 6 letters · shape VCVVCV  ·  "épuiser" · 7 letters · shape VCVVCVC

Frequency comparison

épuisé#9,259
épuiser#24,455

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "épuisé" and "épuiser" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "épuisé" is an adjective and "épuiser" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "épuisé" or "épuiser"?
"épuisé" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,259 in our French list, against #24,455 for "épuiser". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering épuisé vs épuiser

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “épuisé”; for a verb, it's “épuiser”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “épuisé” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list