Which to use
“écoutais” and “écoutons” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #16,278
- “écoutais” frequency rank
- #31,305
- “écoutons” frequency rank
- 47583
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | écoutais | écoutons |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Première personne du singulier de l’imparfait de l’indicatif de écouter. | Première personne du pluriel du présent de l’indicatif de écouter. |
Where the eye mixes écoutais and écoutons
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. écoutais (VCVVCVVC) and écoutons (VCVVCVCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: écoutais vs écoutons
A purely visual mix-up. écoutais (\e.ku.tɛ\) and écoutons (\e.ku.tɔ̃\) 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 47583, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
écoutais is recorded at frequency rank #16,278, classified as averb, pronounced \e.ku.tɛ\. écoutons is at rank #31,305, tagged as averb, pronounced \e.ku.tɔ̃\.
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 47583, this pair ranks #185,812 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of écoutais vs écoutons
Shared letters: costué. Private to "écoutais": ai. Private to "écoutons": n.
"écoutais" · 8 letters · shape VCVVCVVC · "écoutons" · 8 letters · shape VCVVCVCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "écoutais" and "écoutons" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary French text, does "écoutais" or "écoutons" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "écoutais" and "écoutons" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "écoutais" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "écoutons" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #185,812 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "écoutais" and "écoutons" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "écoutées vs écoutons". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #185,812 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.