Which to use
“écouler” and “écoutée” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #15,783
- “écouler” frequency rank
- #25,175
- “écoutée” frequency rank
- 40958
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | écouler | écoutée |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Vendre jusqu'a épuisement ; liquider. | Participe passé féminin singulier de écouter. |
Where the eye mixes écouler and écoutée
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. écouler (VCVVCVC) and écoutée (VCVVCVV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses écouler with écoutée
A purely visual mix-up. écouler (\e.ku.le\) and écoutée (\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 share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40958, 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\. écoutée is at rank #25,175, 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 40958, this pair ranks #236,654 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of écouler vs écoutée
Shared letters: ceoué. Private to "écouler": lr. Private to "écoutée": t.
"écouler" · 7 letters · shape VCVVCVC · "écoutée" · 7 letters · shape VCVVCVV
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "écouler" and "écoutée" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary French text, does "écouler" or "écoutée" show up more?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "écouler" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "écoutée" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #236,654 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "écouler" and "écoutée" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "échouée vs écoutée". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #236,654 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.