Which to use
“échoue” is a verb and “écope” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #13,092
- “échoue” frequency rank
- #35,341
- “écope” frequency rank
- 48433
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | échoue | écope |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Première personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de échouer. | Pelle de bois creuse qui sert à vider l’eau qui entre dans un bateau. |
Where the eye mixes échoue and écope
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. échoue runs 6 letters (VCCVVV) against écope's 5 (VCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between échoue and écope
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: échoue is \e.ʃu\ while écope is \e.kɔp\. 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 (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 48433, 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\. écope is at rank #35,341, tagged as anoun, pronounced \e.kɔp\.
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 48433, this pair ranks #178,977 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of échoue vs écope
Shared letters: ceoé. Private to "échoue": hu. Private to "écope": p.
"échoue" · 6 letters · shape VCCVVV · "écope" · 5 letters · shape VCVCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "échoue" and "écope" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "échoue" vs "écope" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "échoue" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "écope" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #178,977 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "échoue" and "écope" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "échoppe vs écope". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #178,977 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.