Which to use
“échouer” and “écrouler” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #12,699
- “échouer” frequency rank
- #23,079
- “écrouler” frequency rank
- 35778
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | échouer | écrouler |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Donner sur le sable, sur un écueil et y stationner plus ou moins longtemps, en parlant d’une embarcation voire d’un cétacé ou de poissons. | Tomber en s’affaissant. |
Where the eye mixes échouer and écrouler
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. échouer runs 7 letters (VCCVVVC) against écrouler's 8 (VCCVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses échouer with écrouler
A purely visual mix-up. échouer (\e.ʃwe\) and écrouler (\e.kʁu.le\) 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 35778, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
échouer is recorded at frequency rank #12,699, classified as averb, pronounced \e.ʃwe\. écrouler is at rank #23,079, tagged as averb, pronounced \e.kʁu.le\.
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 35778, this pair ranks #274,299 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of échouer vs écrouler
Shared letters: ceorué. Private to "échouer": h. Private to "écrouler": l.
"échouer" · 7 letters · shape VCCVVVC · "écrouler" · 8 letters · shape VCCVVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "échouer" and "écrouler" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "échouer" vs "écrouler" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "échouer" and "écrouler" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "échouer" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "écrouler" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #274,299 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "échouer" and "écrouler" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "écroué vs écrouler". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #274,299 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.