Which to use
“expire” is a verb and “export” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #23,207
- “expire” frequency rank
- #13,595
- “export” frequency rank
- 36802
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | expire | export |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Première personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de expirer. | Exportation. |
Where the eye mixes expire and export
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between expire and export
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: expire is \ɛk.spiʁ\ while export is \ɛks.pɔʁ\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 36802, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
expire is recorded at frequency rank #23,207, classified as averb, pronounced \ɛk.spiʁ\. export is at rank #13,595, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ɛks.pɔʁ\.
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 36802, this pair ranks #267,019 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of expire vs export
Shared letters: eprx. Private to "expire": i. Private to "export": ot.
"expire" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV · "export" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "expire" and "export" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "expire" vs "export" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "expire" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "export" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #267,019 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "expire" and "export" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "expier vs expire". 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 #267,019 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.