espérer vs espères, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#3,254
“espérer” frequency rank: #39,788
“espères” frequency rank: 43042
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	espérer	espères
Definition	Attendre.	Deuxième personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de espérer.

Where the spellings diverge

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

7 ch

espérer

7 ch

espères

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. espérer (\ɛs.pe.ʁe\) and espères (\ɛs.pɛʁ\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 43042, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

espérer is recorded at frequency rank #3,254, classified as averb, pronounced \ɛs.pe.ʁe\. espères is at rank #39,788, tagged as averb, pronounced \ɛs.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 43042, this pair ranks #221,062 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of espérer vs espères

Shared letters: eprs. Private to "espérer": é. Private to "espères": è.

"espérer" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC · "espères" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC

Frequency comparison

espérer#3,254

espères#39,788

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

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

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

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

"espérer" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,254 in our French list, against #39,788 for "espères". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering espérer vs espères

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 “espérer” entry
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