Which to use
“écoule” and “écoutez” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #17,596
- “écoule” frequency rank
- #5,717
- “écoutez” frequency rank
- 23313
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | écoule | écoutez |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Première personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de écouler. | Deuxième personne du pluriel du présent de l’indicatif de écouter. |
Where the eye mixes écoule and écoutez
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: écoule vs écoutez
A purely visual mix-up. écoule (\e.kul\) and écoutez (\e.ku.te\) 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 23313, 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\. écoutez is at rank #5,717, tagged as averb, pronounced \e.ku.te\.
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 23313, this pair ranks #353,227 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of écoule vs écoutez
Shared letters: ceoué. Private to "écoule": l. Private to "écoutez": tz.
"écoule" · 6 letters · shape VCVVCV · "écoutez" · 7 letters · shape VCVVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "écoule" for "écoutez" ever safe?
Which is more common, "écoule" or "écoutez"?
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 "écoutez" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #353,227 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "écoule" and "écoutez" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "échouée vs écoule". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #353,227 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.