Which to use
“espionne” is a noun and “espionner” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #20,136
- “espionne” frequency rank
- #17,705
- “espionner” frequency rank
- 37841
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | espionne | espionner |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Celle qui est chargée par un pays de recueillir clandestinement, dans un autre pays, des informations gardées secrètes ; celle qui espionne. | Observer, surveiller sournoisement quelqu’un dans ses actions, dans ses discours pour en faire un rapport. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set espionne and espionner apart are highlighted. They share 8 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
espionne and espionner form a confusable pair in the French index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “espionne” sits inside “espionner” - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 37841, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
espionne is recorded at frequency rank #20,136, classified as anoun, pronounced \ɛs.pjɔn\. espionner is at rank #17,705, tagged as averb, pronounced \ɛs.pjɔ.ne\.
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 37841, this pair ranks #259,593 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "espionne" and "espionner" be used interchangeably?
Remembering espionne vs espionner
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “espionne”; for a verb, it's “espionner”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “espionne” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable