Which to use
“écartent” and “écoutent” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #35,339
- “écartent” frequency rank
- #11,887
- “écoutent” frequency rank
- 47226
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | écartent | écoutent |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Troisième personne du pluriel du présent de l’indicatif de écarter. | Troisième personne du pluriel du présent de l’indicatif de écouter. |
Where the eye mixes écartent and écoutent
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. écartent (VCVCCVCC) and écoutent (VCVVCVCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses écartent with écoutent
A purely visual mix-up. écartent (\e.kaʁt\) and écoutent (\e.kut\) 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 47226, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
écartent is recorded at frequency rank #35,339, classified as averb, pronounced \e.kaʁt\. écoutent is at rank #11,887, tagged as averb, pronounced \e.kut\.
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 47226, this pair ranks #188,543 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of écartent vs écoutent
Shared letters: centé. Private to "écartent": ar. Private to "écoutent": ou.
"écartent" · 8 letters · shape VCVCCVCC · "écoutent" · 8 letters · shape VCVVCVCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "écartent" and "écoutent" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "écartent" vs "écoutent" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "écartent" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "écoutent" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #188,543 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "écartent" and "écoutent" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "écartement vs écartent". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #188,543 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.