Which to use
“espaces” and “espèce” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #3,253
- “espaces” frequency rank
- #1,027
- “espèce” frequency rank
- 4280
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | espaces | espèce |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de espace. | Image ; aspect ; apparence. |
Where the eye mixes espaces and espèce
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. espaces runs 7 letters (VCCVCVC) against espèce's 6 (VCCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses espaces with espèce
A purely visual mix-up. espaces (\ɛs.pas\) and espèce (\ɛs.pɛs\) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 4280, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
espaces is recorded at frequency rank #3,253, classified as anoun, pronounced \ɛs.pas\. espèce is at rank #1,027, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ɛs.pɛs\.
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 4280, this pair ranks #432,005 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of espaces vs espèce
Shared letters: ceps. Private to "espaces": a. Private to "espèce": è.
"espaces" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC · "espèce" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- espaces ← epsaces · esapces · espacces · espacess · espacse · espaecs · espcaes · esppaces
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "espaces" and "espèce" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary French text, does "espaces" or "espèce" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "espaces" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "espèce" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #432,005 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "espaces" and "espèce" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "espèce vs espérée". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #432,005 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.