espère vs exaspère, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“espère” and “exaspère” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#612
“espère” frequency rank: #35,030
“exaspère” frequency rank: 35642
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	espère	exaspère
Definition	Première personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de espérer.	Première personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de exaspérer.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set espère and exaspère apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch

espère

8 ch

exaspère

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. espère (\ɛs.pɛʁ\) and exaspère (\ɛɡ.zas.pɛʁ\) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 35642, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

espère is recorded at frequency rank #612, classified as averb, pronounced \ɛs.pɛʁ\. exaspère is at rank #35,030, tagged as averb, pronounced \ɛɡ.zas.pɛʁ\.

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 35642, this pair ranks #275,271 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of espère vs exaspère

Shared letters: eprsè. Private to "espère": -. Private to "exaspère": ax.

"espère" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV · "exaspère" · 8 letters · shape VCVCCVCV

Frequency comparison

espère#612

exaspère#35,030

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "espère" and "exaspère" be used interchangeably?

No. They are said differently (\ɛs.pɛʁ\ versus \ɛɡ.zas.pɛʁ\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.

Which is more common, "espère" or "exaspère"?

"espère" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #612 in our French list, against #35,030 for "exaspère". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering espère vs exaspère

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “espère” entry
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