Which to use
“continu” is an adjective and “continues” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #5,330
- “continu” frequency rank
- #10,848
- “continues” frequency rank
- 16178
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | continu | continues |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Dont les parties ne sont pas séparées les unes des autres et tiennent les unes aux autres. | Pluriel de continue. |
Same sound, different letters: continu vs continues
Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 7 letters.
Ear matches; page differs - continu and continues
Say them out loud and nothing separates them: continu and continues carry the same recorded pronunciation, \kɔ̃.ti.ny\. Grammar is what tells them apart: one is anadjective, the other anoun, so most sentences will only accept one of them. They differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “continu” sits inside “continues”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 16178, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
continu is recorded at frequency rank #5,330, classified as anadj, pronounced \kɔ̃.ti.ny\. continues is at rank #10,848, tagged as anoun, pronounced \kɔ̃.ti.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 16178, this pair ranks #389,010 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of continu vs continues
Shared letters: cinotu. Private to "continu": -. Private to "continues": es.
"continu" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV · "continues" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "continu" and "continues" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary French text, does "continu" or "continues" show up more?
Useful next steps
Sound matches; spelling doesn't. Use the exits below to lock the right form or check a cousin pair.
- Full dictionary entry for "continu" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "continues" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #389,010 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "continu" and "continues" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "continues 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 #389,010 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.