Which to use
“écouler” and “écouter” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #15,783
- “écouler” frequency rank
- #1,646
- “écouter” frequency rank
- 17429
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | écouler | écouter |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Vendre jusqu'a épuisement ; liquider. | Faire attention, prêter l’oreille pour entendre. |
Where the eye mixes écouler and écouter
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses écouler with écouter
A purely visual mix-up. écouler (\e.ku.le\) and écouter (\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 differ by a single letter - l in “écouler” becomes t in “écouter”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17429, 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\. écouter is at rank #1,646, 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 17429, this pair ranks #383,211 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of écouler vs écouter
Shared letters: ceorué. Private to "écouler": l. Private to "écouter": t.
"écouler" · 7 letters · shape VCVVCVC · "écouter" · 7 letters · shape VCVVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "écouler" for "écouter" ever safe?
Which is more common, "écouler" or "écouter"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "écouler" and "écouter" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "écouler" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "écouter" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #383,211 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "écouler" and "écouter" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "écouler vs écouteur". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #383,211 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.