Which to use
“distribue” and “distribuer” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #13,570
- “distribue” frequency rank
- #8,378
- “distribuer” frequency rank
- 21948
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | distribue | distribuer |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Première personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de distribuer. | Répartir une chose entre plusieurs personnes ou plusieurs endroits. |
Where the eye mixes distribue and distribuer
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. distribue runs 9 letters (CVCCCVCVV) against distribuer's 10 (CVCCCVCVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between distribue and distribuer
A purely visual mix-up. distribue (\dis.tʁi.by\) and distribuer (\dis.tʁi.bɥe\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “distribue” sits inside “distribuer”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 21948, 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\. distribuer is at rank #8,378, tagged as averb, 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 21948, this pair ranks #360,581 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of distribue vs distribuer
Shared letters: bdeirstu. Private to "distribue": -. Private to "distribuer": -.
"distribue" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCVCVV · "distribuer" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCVCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- distribue ← ddistribue · disrtibue · disstribue · distirbue · distrbiue · distribbue · distribeu · distriube
- distribuer ← ddistribuer · disrtibuer · disstribuer · distirbuer · distrbiuer · distribbuer · distribeur · distribuerr
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "distribue" and "distribuer" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "distribue" or "distribuer"?
Useful next steps
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 "distribuer" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #360,581 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "distribue" and "distribuer" 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 #360,581 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.