Which to use
“espion” and “espionne” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #12,375
- “espion” frequency rank
- #20,136
- “espionne” frequency rank
- 32511
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | espion | espionne |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Celui qui est chargé par un pays de recueillir clandestinement, dans un autre pays, des informations gardées secrètes ; celui qui espionne. | Celle qui est chargée par un pays de recueillir clandestinement, dans un autre pays, des informations gardées secrètes ; celle qui espionne. |
Where the eye mixes espion and espionne
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. espion runs 6 letters (VCCVVC) against espionne's 8 (VCCVVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between espion and espionne
A purely visual mix-up. espion (\ɛs.pjɔ̃\) and espionne (\ɛs.pjɔn\) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “espion” sits inside “espionne”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 32511, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
espion is recorded at frequency rank #12,375, classified as anoun, pronounced \ɛs.pjɔ̃\. espionne is at rank #20,136, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ɛs.pjɔn\.
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 32511, this pair ranks #296,787 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of espion vs espionne
Shared letters: einops. Private to "espion": -. Private to "espionne": -.
"espion" · 6 letters · shape VCCVVC · "espionne" · 8 letters · shape VCCVVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "espion" and "espionne" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "espion" or "espionne"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "espion" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "espionne" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #296,787 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "espion" and "espionne" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "espionne vs Estienne". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #296,787 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.