Which to use
“échoue” and “écroule” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #13,092
- “échoue” frequency rank
- #19,432
- “écroule” frequency rank
- 32524
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | échoue | écroule |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Première personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de échouer. | Première personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de écrouler. |
Where the eye mixes échoue and écroule
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. échoue runs 6 letters (VCCVVV) against écroule's 7 (VCCVVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: échoue vs écroule
A purely visual mix-up. échoue (\e.ʃu\) and écroule (\e.kʁul\) 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 32524, 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\. écroule is at rank #19,432, tagged as averb, pronounced \e.kʁul\.
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 32524, this pair ranks #296,698 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of échoue vs écroule
Shared letters: ceoué. Private to "échoue": h. Private to "écroule": lr.
"échoue" · 6 letters · shape VCCVVV · "écroule" · 7 letters · shape VCCVVCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "échoue" and "écroule" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "échoue" vs "écroule" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "échoue" and "écroule" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "échoue" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "écroule" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #296,698 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "échoue" and "écroule" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "échouée vs écroule". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #296,698 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.