Which to use
“écouler” and “écroule” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #15,783
- “écouler” frequency rank
- #19,432
- “écroule” frequency rank
- 35215
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | écouler | écroule |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Vendre jusqu'a épuisement ; liquider. | Première personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de écrouler. |
Where the eye mixes écouler and écroule
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. écouler (VCVVCVC) and écroule (VCCVVCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between écouler and écroule
A purely visual mix-up. écouler (\e.ku.le\) and écroule (\e.kʁul\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they are an anagram pair: the same letters reordered. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 35215, 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\. écroule is at rank #19,432, tagged as averb, pronounced \e.kʁul\.
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 35215, this pair ranks #278,338 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of écouler vs écroule
Shared letters: celorué. Private to "écouler": -. Private to "écroule": -.
"écouler" · 7 letters · shape VCVVCVC · "écroule" · 7 letters · shape VCCVVCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "écouler" and "écroule" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary French text, does "écouler" or "écroule" show up more?
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 "écroule" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #278,338 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "écouler" and "écroule" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "échouée vs écroule". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #278,338 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.