Which to use
“échoua” and “échouer” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #41,084
- “échoua” frequency rank
- #12,699
- “échouer” frequency rank
- 53783
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | échoua | échouer |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Troisième personne du singulier du passé simple de échouer. | Donner sur le sable, sur un écueil et y stationner plus ou moins longtemps, en parlant d’une embarcation voire d’un cétacé ou de poissons. |
Where the eye mixes échoua and échouer
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. échoua runs 6 letters (VCCVVV) against échouer's 7 (VCCVVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between échoua and échouer
A purely visual mix-up. échoua (\e.ʃwa\) and échouer (\e.ʃwe\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 53783, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
échoua is recorded at frequency rank #41,084, classified as averb, pronounced \e.ʃwa\. échouer is at rank #12,699, tagged as averb, pronounced \e.ʃwe\.
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 53783, this pair ranks #138,392 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of échoua vs échouer
Shared letters: choué. Private to "échoua": a. Private to "échouer": er.
"échoua" · 6 letters · shape VCCVVV · "échouer" · 7 letters · shape VCCVVVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "échoua" for "échouer" ever safe?
Which is more common, "échoua" or "échouer"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "échoua" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "échouer" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #138,392 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "échoua" and "échouer" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "échoua vs échouée". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #138,392 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.