espères vs espérons, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#39,788
“espères” frequency rank: #5,035
“espérons” frequency rank: 44823
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	espères	espérons
Definition	Deuxième personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de espérer.	Première personne du pluriel du présent de l’indicatif de espérer.

Where the spellings diverge

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

7 ch

espères

8 ch

espérons

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. espères (\ɛs.pɛʁ\) and espérons (\ɛs.pe.ʁɔ̃\) 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 44823, 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\. espérons is at rank #5,035, tagged as averb, pronounced \ɛs.pe.ʁɔ̃\.

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 44823, this pair ranks #207,545 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of espères vs espérons

Shared letters: eprs. Private to "espères": è. Private to "espérons": noé.

"espères" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC · "espérons" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCVCC

Frequency comparison

espères#39,788

espérons#5,035

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

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

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

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

"espérons" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,035 in our French list, against #39,788 for "espères". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering espères vs espérons

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 “espères” entry
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