Which to use
“écoutes” is a noun and “écoutons” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #6,772
- “écoutes” frequency rank
- #31,305
- “écoutons” frequency rank
- 38077
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | écoutes | écoutons |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de écoute. | Première personne du pluriel du présent de l’indicatif de écouter. |
Where the eye mixes écoutes and écoutons
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. écoutes runs 7 letters (VCVVCVC) against écoutons's 8 (VCVVCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses écoutes with écoutons
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: écoutes is \e.kut\ while écoutons is \e.ku.tɔ̃\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38077, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
écoutes is recorded at frequency rank #6,772, classified as anoun, pronounced \e.kut\. 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 38077, this pair ranks #257,828 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of écoutes vs écoutons
Shared letters: costué. Private to "écoutes": e. Private to "écoutons": n.
"écoutes" · 7 letters · shape VCVVCVC · "écoutons" · 8 letters · shape VCVVCVCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "écoutes" and "écoutons" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "écoutes" or "écoutons"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "écoutes" 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 #257,828 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "écoutes" and "écoutons" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "écoutées vs écoutons". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #257,828 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.