Which to use
“écouter” and “épouser” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,646
- “écouter” frequency rank
- #6,916
- “épouser” frequency rank
- 8562
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | écouter | épouser |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Faire attention, prêter l’oreille pour entendre. | Prendre en mariage. |
Where the eye mixes écouter and épouser
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between écouter and épouser
A purely visual mix-up. écouter (\e.ku.te\) and épouser (\e.pu.ze\) 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 8562, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
écouter is recorded at frequency rank #1,646, classified as averb, pronounced \e.ku.te\. épouser is at rank #6,916, tagged as averb, pronounced \e.pu.ze\.
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 8562, this pair ranks #419,609 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of écouter vs épouser
Shared letters: eorué. Private to "écouter": ct. Private to "épouser": ps.
"écouter" · 7 letters · shape VCVVCVC · "épouser" · 7 letters · shape VCVVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "écouter" for "épouser" ever safe?
Frequency check: "écouter" vs "épouser" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "écouter" and "épouser" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "écouter" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "épouser" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #419,609 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "écouter" and "épouser" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "épousent vs épouser". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #419,609 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.