Which to use
“espères” and “espérez” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #39,788
- “espères” frequency rank
- #32,810
- “espérez” frequency rank
- 72598
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | espères | espérez |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Deuxième personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de espérer. | Deuxième personne du pluriel du présent de l’indicatif de espérer. |
Where the eye mixes espères and espérez
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. espères and espérez follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses espères with espérez
A purely visual mix-up. espères (\ɛs.pɛʁ\) and espérez (\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 share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 72598, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
espères is recorded at frequency rank #39,788, classified as averb, pronounced \ɛs.pɛʁ\. espérez is at rank #32,810, 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 72598, this pair ranks #43,447 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of espères vs espérez
Shared letters: eprs. Private to "espères": è. Private to "espérez": zé.
"espères" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC · "espérez" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "espères" and "espérez" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "espères" or "espérez"?
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 "espères" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "espérez" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #43,447 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "espères" and "espérez" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "espères vs expertes". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #43,447 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.