Which to use
“écouler” and “épauler” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #15,783
- “écouler” frequency rank
- #33,088
- “épauler” frequency rank
- 48871
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | écouler | épauler |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Vendre jusqu'a épuisement ; liquider. | Blesser à l’épaule. |
Where the eye mixes écouler and épauler
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. écouler and épauler follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCVVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses écouler with épauler
A purely visual mix-up. écouler (\e.ku.le\) and épauler (\e.po.le\) 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 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 48871, 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\. épauler is at rank #33,088, tagged as averb, pronounced \e.po.le\.
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 48871, this pair ranks #175,374 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of écouler vs épauler
Shared letters: elrué. Private to "écouler": co. Private to "épauler": ap.
"écouler" · 7 letters · shape VCVVCVC · "épauler" · 7 letters · shape VCVVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "écouler" for "épauler" ever safe?
Frequency check: "écouler" vs "épauler" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "écouler" and "épauler" 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 "épauler" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #175,374 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "écouler" and "épauler" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "épauler vs exaucer". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #175,374 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.