Which to use
“écoule” and “enroule” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #17,596
- “écoule” frequency rank
- #31,478
- “enroule” frequency rank
- 49074
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | écoule | enroule |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Première personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de écouler. | Première personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de enrouler. |
Where the eye mixes écoule and enroule
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. écoule runs 6 letters (VCVVCV) against enroule's 7 (VCCVVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses écoule with enroule
A purely visual mix-up. écoule (\e.kul\) and enroule (\ɑ̃.ʁul\) 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 49074, 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\. enroule is at rank #31,478, tagged as averb, pronounced \ɑ̃.ʁul\.
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 49074, this pair ranks #173,679 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of écoule vs enroule
Shared letters: elou. Private to "écoule": cé. Private to "enroule": nr.
"écoule" · 6 letters · shape VCVVCV · "enroule" · 7 letters · shape VCCVVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- enroule ← ennroule · enorule · enrolue · enrouel · enroulle · enrroule · enruole · ernoule
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "écoule" and "enroule" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "écoule" vs "enroule" - 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 "enroule" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #173,679 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "écoule" and "enroule" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "enrôlés vs enroule". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #173,679 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.