espèrent vs espérer, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#15,373
“espèrent” frequency rank: #3,254
“espérer” frequency rank: 18627
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	espèrent	espérer
Definition	Troisième personne du pluriel du présent de l’indicatif de espérer.	Attendre.

Where the spellings diverge

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

8 ch

espèrent

7 ch

espérer

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. espèrent (\ɛs.pɛʁ\) and espérer (\ɛs.pe.ʁe\) 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 18627, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

espèrent is recorded at frequency rank #15,373, classified as averb, pronounced \ɛs.pɛʁ\. espérer is at rank #3,254, tagged as averb, pronounced \ɛs.pe.ʁe\.

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 18627, this pair ranks #377,334 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of espèrent vs espérer

Shared letters: eprs. Private to "espèrent": ntè. Private to "espérer": é.

"espèrent" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCVCC · "espérer" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC

Frequency comparison

espèrent#15,373

espérer#3,254

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "espèrent" and "espérer" be used interchangeably?

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

Which is more common, "espèrent" or "espérer"?

"espérer" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,254 in our French list, against #15,373 for "espèrent". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering espèrent vs espérer

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 “espèrent” entry
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