Which to use
“échoue” and “échouée” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #13,092
- “échoue” frequency rank
- #48,277
- “échouée” frequency rank
- 61369
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | échoue | échouée |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Première personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de échouer. | Participe passé féminin singulier de échouer. |
Where the eye mixes échoue and échouée
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. échoue runs 6 letters (VCCVVV) against échouée's 7 (VCCVVVV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: échoue vs échouée
A purely visual mix-up. échoue (\e.ʃu\) and échouée (\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 61369, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
échoue is recorded at frequency rank #13,092, classified as averb, pronounced \e.ʃu\. échouée is at rank #48,277, 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 61369, this pair ranks #92,647 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of échoue vs échouée
Shared letters: cehoué. Private to "échoue": -. Private to "échouée": -.
"échoue" · 6 letters · shape VCCVVV · "échouée" · 7 letters · shape VCCVVVV
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "échoue" and "échouée" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary French text, does "échoue" or "échouée" show up more?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "échoue" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "échouée" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #92,647 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "échoue" and "échouée" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "échouée vs échoués". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #92,647 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.