Which to use
“contenir” is a verb and “contenu” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #6,070
- “contenir” frequency rank
- #1,558
- “contenu” frequency rank
- 7628
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | contenir | contenu |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Avoir une certaine contenance, comprendre dans certain espace, dans certaine étendue. | Enfermé dans un volume ou dans un espace. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set contenir and contenu apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
contenir and contenu form a confusable pair in the French index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 7628, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
contenir is recorded at frequency rank #6,070, classified as averb, pronounced \kɔ̃t.niʁ\. contenu is at rank #1,558, tagged as anadj, pronounced \kɔ̃t.ny\.
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 7628, this pair ranks #422,609 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "contenir" and "contenu" be used interchangeably?
Remembering contenir vs contenu
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “contenir”; for an adjective, it's “contenu”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “contenir” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable