Which to use
“échoue” is a verb and “écoute” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #13,092
- “échoue” frequency rank
- #1,130
- “écoute” frequency rank
- 14222
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | échoue | écoute |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Première personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de échouer. | Action d’écouter, ou (vieilli) de faire le guet. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set échoue and écoute apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: échoue is \e.ʃu\ while écoute is \e.kut\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14222, 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\. écoute is at rank #1,130, tagged as anoun, pronounced \e.kut\.
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 14222, this pair ranks #397,630 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of échoue vs écoute
Shared letters: ceoué. Private to "échoue": h. Private to "écoute": t.
"échoue" · 6 letters · shape VCCVVV · "écoute" · 6 letters · shape VCVVCV
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "échoue" and "écoute" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "échoue" or "écoute"?
Remembering échoue vs écoute
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “échoue”; for a noun, it's “écoute”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “échoue” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable