Which to use
“distribue” is a verb and “distribuées” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #13,570
- “distribue” frequency rank
- #20,697
- “distribuées” frequency rank
- 34267
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | distribue | distribuées |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Première personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de distribuer. | Féminin pluriel de distribué. |
Where the eye mixes distribue and distribuées
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. distribue runs 9 letters (CVCCCVCVV) against distribuées's 11 (CVCCCVCVVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses distribue with distribuées
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: distribue is \dis.tʁi.by\ while distribuées is \dis.tʁi.bɥe\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 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 34267, 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\. distribuées is at rank #20,697, 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 34267, this pair ranks #285,014 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of distribue vs distribuées
Shared letters: bdeirstu. Private to "distribue": -. Private to "distribuées": é.
"distribue" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCVCVV · "distribuées" · 11 letters · shape CVCCCVCVVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- distribue ← ddistribue · disrtibue · disstribue · distirbue · distrbiue · distribbue · distribeu · distriube
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "distribue" and "distribuées" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary French text, does "distribue" or "distribuées" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "distribue" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "distribuées" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #285,014 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "distribue" and "distribuées" 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 #285,014 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.