Which to use
“écarter” and “écouter” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #9,101
- “écarter” frequency rank
- #1,646
- “écouter” frequency rank
- 10747
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | écarter | écouter |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Séparer ; éloigner. | Faire attention, prêter l’oreille pour entendre. |
Where the eye mixes écarter and écouter
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: écarter vs écouter
A purely visual mix-up. écarter (\e.kaʁ.te\) and écouter (\e.ku.te\) 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 10747, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
écarter is recorded at frequency rank #9,101, classified as averb, pronounced \e.kaʁ.te\. écouter is at rank #1,646, tagged as averb, pronounced \e.ku.te\.
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 10747, this pair ranks #411,788 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of écarter vs écouter
Shared letters: certé. Private to "écarter": a. Private to "écouter": ou.
"écarter" · 7 letters · shape VCVCCVC · "écouter" · 7 letters · shape VCVVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "écarter" for "écouter" ever safe?
In ordinary French text, does "écarter" or "écouter" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "écarter" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "écouter" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #411,788 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "écarter" and "écouter" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Easter vs écarter". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #411,788 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.