Cue or que?
cue is a noun meaning “An action or event that is a signal for somebody to do something”; que is a noun meaning “Alternative form of queue”. They sound the same (/kjuː/). In written English (wordfreq, 2021 data) que is about as common as cue.
What is the difference between cue and que?
| cue | que | |
|---|---|---|
| Part of speech | noun, verb | noun |
| Meaning | An action or event that is a signal for somebody to do something The last words of a play actor's speech, serving as an intimation for the next actor to speak; any word or words which serve to remind an actor to speak or to… To give someone a cue signal | |
| Example | Cue the cameraman, and action! | Although the blue haze you see rising from a Western skyline is often that of a barbecue pit, the quest for 'que is one that's been… |
| Forms | cues 'cues | ques 'ques |
| Pronunciation | /kjuː/ /kjʉw/ /kju/ | /ˈkjuː/ |
| In writing | 5.6 times per million words | 6.9 times per million words |
Sources: cue and que in the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Every current meaning of cue and que
cue
- 1
The name of the Latin script letter Q/q
- 2
An action or event that is a signal for somebody to do something
- 3
To give someone a cue signal
Cue the cameraman, and action!
- 4
A straight tapering stick used to hit the balls in various games
- 5
To take aim on the cue ball with the cue and hit it
- 6
Acronym of clear and unmistakable error, a legal standard for appeal of a decision by a Board of Veterans Appeals in the United States
- 7
USinformalClipping of barbecue
- 8
The last words of a play actor's speech, serving as an intimation for the next actor to speak; any word or words which serve to remind an actor to speak or to do something; a catchword
que
- 1
Alternative form of queue
- 2
USinformalClipping of barbeque
Although the blue haze you see rising from a Western skyline is often that of a barbecue pit, the quest for 'que is one that's been undertaken in the East as well as the West. In…
Source: the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); obsolete, archaic, dialect and rare senses left out.
Which is more common, cue or que?
cue appears 5.6 times per million words; que 6.9 times per million words.
cue 5.6 times per million wordsque 6.9 times per million words
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How many people search cue vs que?
“cue vs que” is searched about 60 times a month on Bing (Google reports it together with close variants, so it has no figure of its own) in the United States.
Sources: Google Ads keyword data through DataForSEO and Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, the average month from September 2025 to August 2026.