Which to use
“écoule” and “écrouler” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #17,596
- “écoule” frequency rank
- #23,079
- “écrouler” frequency rank
- 40675
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | écoule | écrouler |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Première personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de écouler. | Tomber en s’affaissant. |
Where the eye mixes écoule and écrouler
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between écoule and écrouler
A purely visual mix-up. écoule (\e.kul\) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40675, 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\. 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 40675, this pair ranks #238,786 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of écoule vs écrouler
Shared letters: celoué. Private to "écoule": -. Private to "écrouler": r.
"écoule" · 6 letters · shape VCVVCV · "écrouler" · 8 letters · shape VCCVVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "écoule" for "écrouler" ever safe?
Frequency check: "écoule" vs "écrouler" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "écoule" 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 #238,786 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "écoule" and "écrouler" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "échouée vs écoule". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #238,786 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.