Which to use
“contenir” is a verb and “contenue” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #6,070
- “contenir” frequency rank
- #15,598
- “contenue” frequency rank
- 21668
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | contenir | contenue |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Avoir une certaine contenance, comprendre dans certain espace, dans certaine étendue. | Féminin singulier de contenu. |
Where the eye mixes contenir and contenue
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. contenir (CVCCVCVC) and contenue (CVCCVCVV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses contenir with contenue
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: contenir is \kɔ̃t.niʁ\ while contenue is \kɔ̃.tə.ny\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 21668, 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\. contenue is at rank #15,598, tagged as anadj, pronounced \kɔ̃.tə.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 21668, this pair ranks #362,033 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of contenir vs contenue
Shared letters: cenot. Private to "contenir": ir. Private to "contenue": u.
"contenir" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC · "contenue" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "contenir" and "contenue" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "contenir" vs "contenue" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "contenir" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "contenue" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #362,033 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "contenir" and "contenue" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "contenue vs convenues". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #362,033 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.