Which to use
“échoue” and “échoués” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #13,092
- “échoue” frequency rank
- #47,113
- “échoués” frequency rank
- 60205
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | échoue | échoués |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Première personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de échouer. | Participe passé masculin pluriel de échouer. |
Where the eye mixes échoue and échoués
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. échoue runs 6 letters (VCCVVV) against échoués's 7 (VCCVVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses échoue with échoués
A purely visual mix-up. échoue (\e.ʃu\) and échoués (\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 60205, 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\. échoués is at rank #47,113, 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 60205, this pair ranks #98,881 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of échoue vs échoués
Shared letters: choué. Private to "échoue": e. Private to "échoués": s.
"échoue" · 6 letters · shape VCCVVV · "échoués" · 7 letters · shape VCCVVVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "échoue" and "échoués" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary French text, does "échoue" or "échoués" 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 "échoués" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #98,881 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "échoue" and "échoués" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "échouée vs échoués". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #98,881 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.