Which to use
“écoute” and “égout” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,130
- “écoute” frequency rank
- #18,915
- “égout” frequency rank
- 20045
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | écoute | égout |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Action d’écouter, ou (vieilli) de faire le guet. | Chute et écoulement des eaux qui viennent de quelque endroit. |
Where the eye mixes écoute and égout
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. écoute runs 6 letters (VCVVCV) against égout's 5 (VCVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses écoute with égout
A purely visual mix-up. écoute (\e.kut\) and égout (\e.ɡu\) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 20045, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
écoute is recorded at frequency rank #1,130, classified as anoun, pronounced \e.kut\. égout is at rank #18,915, tagged as anoun, pronounced \e.ɡu\.
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 20045, this pair ranks #370,195 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of écoute vs égout
Shared letters: otué. Private to "écoute": ce. Private to "égout": g.
"écoute" · 6 letters · shape VCVVCV · "égout" · 5 letters · shape VCVVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "écoute" for "égout" ever safe?
Which is more common, "écoute" or "égout"?
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 "écoute" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "égout" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #370,195 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "écoute" and "égout" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "égout vs Egypt". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #370,195 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.