Which to use
“écoule” and “écouler” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #17,596
- “écoule” frequency rank
- #15,783
- “écouler” frequency rank
- 33379
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | écoule | écouler |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Première personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de écouler. | Vendre jusqu'a épuisement ; liquider. |
Where the eye mixes écoule and écouler
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. écoule runs 6 letters (VCVVCV) against écouler's 7 (VCVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between écoule and écouler
A purely visual mix-up. écoule (\e.kul\) and écouler (\e.ku.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 extra letter(s) - “écoule” sits inside “écouler”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 33379, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
écoule is recorded at frequency rank #17,596, classified as averb, pronounced \e.kul\. écouler is at rank #15,783, tagged as averb, pronounced \e.ku.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 33379, this pair ranks #291,021 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of écoule vs écouler
Shared letters: celoué. Private to "écoule": -. Private to "écouler": r.
"écoule" · 6 letters · shape VCVVCV · "écouler" · 7 letters · shape VCVVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "écoule" and "écouler" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "écoule" vs "écouler" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "écoule" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "écouler" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #291,021 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "écoule" and "écouler" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "échouée vs écoule". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #291,021 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.