Which to use
“écoule” and “écroué” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #17,596
- “écoule” frequency rank
- #42,699
- “écroué” frequency rank
- 60295
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | écoule | écroué |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Première personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de écouler. | Participe passé masculin singulier de écrouer. |
Where the eye mixes écoule and écroué
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. écoule (VCVVCV) and écroué (VCCVVV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: écoule vs écroué
A purely visual mix-up. écoule (\e.kul\) and écroué (\e.kʁu.e\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 4 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 60295, 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\. écroué is at rank #42,699, tagged as averb, pronounced \e.kʁu.e\.
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 60295, this pair ranks #98,386 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of écoule vs écroué
Shared letters: coué. Private to "écoule": el. Private to "écroué": r.
"écoule" · 6 letters · shape VCVVCV · "écroué" · 6 letters · shape VCCVVV
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "écoule" and "écroué" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "écoule" vs "écroué" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "écoule" and "écroué" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "écoule" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "écroué" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #98,386 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "écoule" and "écroué" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "échouée vs écroué". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #98,386 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.