Which to use
“échec” is an intj and “échos” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #2,306
- “échec” frequency rank
- #12,502
- “échos” frequency rank
- 14808
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | échec | échos |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Attaque sur le roi, au jeu d’échecs, de sorte qu’il est obligé de se retirer ou de se couvrir. | Pluriel de écho. |
Where the eye mixes échec and échos
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. échec and échos follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: échec vs échos
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: échec is \e.ʃɛk\ while échos is \e.ko\. 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 (intj vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14808, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
échec is recorded at frequency rank #2,306, classified as anintj, pronounced \e.ʃɛk\. échos is at rank #12,502, tagged as anoun, pronounced \e.ko\.
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 14808, this pair ranks #395,134 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of échec vs échos
Shared letters: ché. Private to "échec": e. Private to "échos": os.
"échec" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC · "échos" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "échec" and "échos" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "échec" or "échos"?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "échec" and "échos" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "échec" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "échos" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #395,134 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "échec" and "échos" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "échos vs échoués". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #395,134 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.