Which to use
“distribue” is a verb and “distribuée” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #13,570
- “distribue” frequency rank
- #19,810
- “distribuée” frequency rank
- 33380
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | distribue | distribuée |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Première personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de distribuer. | Féminin singulier de distribué. |
Where the eye mixes distribue and distribuée
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. distribue runs 9 letters (CVCCCVCVV) against distribuée's 10 (CVCCCVCVVV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses distribue with distribuée
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: distribue is \dis.tʁi.by\ while distribuée is \dis.tʁi.bɥe\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 33380, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
distribue is recorded at frequency rank #13,570, classified as averb, pronounced \dis.tʁi.by\. distribuée is at rank #19,810, tagged as anadj, pronounced \dis.tʁi.bɥe\.
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 33380, this pair ranks #291,015 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of distribue vs distribuée
Shared letters: bdeirstu. Private to "distribue": -. Private to "distribuée": é.
"distribue" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCVCVV · "distribuée" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCVCVVV
Known mistypes of this pair
- distribue ← ddistribue · disrtibue · disstribue · distirbue · distrbiue · distribbue · distribeu · distriube
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "distribue" for "distribuée" ever safe?
Frequency check: "distribue" vs "distribuée" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "distribue" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "distribuée" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #291,015 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "distribue" and "distribuée" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "diatribe vs distribue". 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 #291,015 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.