Which to use
“égout” and “époux” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #18,915
- “égout” frequency rank
- #4,819
- “époux” frequency rank
- 23734
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | égout | époux |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Chute et écoulement des eaux qui viennent de quelque endroit. | Mari, dans le mariage. |
Where the eye mixes égout and époux
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. égout and époux follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCVVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses égout with époux
A purely visual mix-up. égout (\e.ɡu\) and époux (\e.pu\) 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 23734, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
égout is recorded at frequency rank #18,915, classified as anoun, pronounced \e.ɡu\. époux is at rank #4,819, tagged as anoun, pronounced \e.pu\.
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 23734, this pair ranks #350,770 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of égout vs époux
Shared letters: oué. Private to "égout": gt. Private to "époux": px.
"égout" · 5 letters · shape VCVVC · "époux" · 5 letters · shape VCVVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "égout" and "époux" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary French text, does "égout" or "époux" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "égout" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "époux" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #350,770 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "égout" and "époux" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "égout vs Egypt". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #350,770 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.