Which to use
“écouler” is a verb and “écoute” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #15,783
- “écouler” frequency rank
- #1,130
- “écoute” frequency rank
- 16913
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | écouler | écoute |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Vendre jusqu'a épuisement ; liquider. | Action d’écouter, ou (vieilli) de faire le guet. |
Where the eye mixes écouler and écoute
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. écouler runs 7 letters (VCVVCVC) against écoute's 6 (VCVVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses écouler with écoute
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: écouler is \e.ku.le\ while écoute is \e.kut\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 16913, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
écouler is recorded at frequency rank #15,783, classified as averb, pronounced \e.ku.le\. écoute is at rank #1,130, tagged as anoun, pronounced \e.kut\.
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 16913, this pair ranks #385,675 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of écouler vs écoute
Shared letters: ceoué. Private to "écouler": lr. Private to "écoute": t.
"écouler" · 7 letters · shape VCVVCVC · "écoute" · 6 letters · shape VCVVCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "écouler" and "écoute" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "écouler" or "écoute"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "écouler" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "écoute" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #385,675 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "écouler" and "écoute" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "écouler vs écouteur". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #385,675 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.