aperçuvsaperçueWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: aperçu is a noun, aperçue is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“aperçu” is a noun and “aperçue” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#4,907
“aperçu” frequency rank
#24,102
“aperçue” frequency rank
29009
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature aperçu aperçue
Definition Vue d’ensemble, exposé succinct d’un sujet. Participe passé féminin singulier de apercevoir.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set aperçu and aperçue apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
aperçu
7 ch
aperçue

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Say them out loud and nothing separates them: aperçu and aperçue carry the same recorded pronunciation, \a.pɛʁ.sy\. Grammar is what tells them apart: one is anoun, the other averb, so most sentences will only accept one of them. They differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “aperçu” sits inside “aperçue”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 29009, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

aperçu is recorded at frequency rank #4,907, classified as anoun, pronounced \a.pɛʁ.sy\. aperçue is at rank #24,102, tagged as averb, pronounced \a.pɛʁ.sy\.

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 29009, this pair ranks #319,313 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of aperçu vs aperçue

Shared letters: aepruç. Private to "aperçu": -. Private to "aperçue": -.

"aperçu" · 6 letters · shape VCVCCV  ·  "aperçue" · 7 letters · shape VCVCCVV

Frequency comparison

aperçu#4,907
aperçue#24,102

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "aperçu" and "aperçue" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "aperçu" is a noun and "aperçue" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "aperçu" or "aperçue"?
"aperçu" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,907 in our French list, against #24,102 for "aperçue". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering aperçu vs aperçue

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “aperçu”; for a verb, it's “aperçue”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “aperçu” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list