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 eye mixes espérer and espères
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. espérer and espères follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between espérer and espères
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
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "espérer" for "espères" ever safe?
In ordinary French text, does "espérer" or "espères" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "espérer" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "espères" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #221,062 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "espérer" and "espères" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "espères vs expertes". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #221,062 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.