Which to use
“échos” is a noun and “échoua” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #12,502
- “échos” frequency rank
- #41,084
- “échoua” frequency rank
- 53586
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | échos | échoua |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de écho. | Troisième personne du singulier du passé simple de échouer. |
Where the eye mixes échos and échoua
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. échos runs 5 letters (VCCVC) against échoua's 6 (VCCVVV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: échos vs échoua
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: échos is \e.ko\ while échoua is \e.ʃwa\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 53586, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
échos is recorded at frequency rank #12,502, classified as anoun, pronounced \e.ko\. échoua is at rank #41,084, tagged as averb, pronounced \e.ʃwa\.
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 53586, this pair ranks #139,704 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of échos vs échoua
Shared letters: choé. Private to "échos": s. Private to "échoua": au.
"échos" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC · "échoua" · 6 letters · shape VCCVVV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "échos" for "échoua" ever safe?
Frequency check: "échos" vs "échoua" - 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 "échos" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "échoua" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #139,704 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "échos" and "échoua" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "échoua vs échouée". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #139,704 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.