Which to use
“écorce” is a noun and “écoule” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #17,316
- “écorce” frequency rank
- #17,596
- “écoule” frequency rank
- 34912
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | écorce | écoule |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Partie superficielle et protectrice des arbres et plus généralement des plantes ligneuses. | Première personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de écouler. |
Where the eye mixes écorce and écoule
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. écorce (VCVCCV) and écoule (VCVVCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: écorce vs écoule
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: écorce is \e.kɔʁs\ while écoule is \e.kul\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 34912, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
écorce is recorded at frequency rank #17,316, classified as anoun, pronounced \e.kɔʁs\. écoule is at rank #17,596, tagged as averb, pronounced \e.kul\.
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 34912, this pair ranks #280,499 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of écorce vs écoule
Shared letters: ceoé. Private to "écorce": r. Private to "écoule": lu.
"écorce" · 6 letters · shape VCVCCV · "écoule" · 6 letters · shape VCVVCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "écorce" and "écoule" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "écorce" vs "écoule" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "écorce" and "écoule" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "écorce" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "écoule" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #280,499 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "écorce" and "écoule" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "échouée vs écoule". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #280,499 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.