Which to use
“issu” is an adjective and “iu” is a pronoun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #4,769
- “issu” frequency rank
- #46,833
- “iu” frequency rank
- 51602
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | issu | iu |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Né (d’une personne, d’une lignée ou d’une race), descendant. | Je. |
Where the eye mixes issu and iu
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: issu vs iu
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: issu is \i.sy\ while iu is \ˈiu\. 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 (adjective vs pronoun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 51602, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
issu is recorded at frequency rank #4,769, classified as anadj, pronounced \i.sy\. iu is at rank #46,833, tagged as apron, pronounced \ˈiu\.
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 51602, this pair ranks #153,798 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of issu vs iu
Shared letters: iu. Private to "issu": s. Private to "iu": -.
"issu" · 4 letters · shape VCCV · "iu" · 2 letters · shape VV
Known mistypes of this pair
- issu ← isu · sisu
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "issu" and "iu" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "issu" or "iu"?
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 "issu" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "iu" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #153,798 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "issu" and "iu" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "isi vs iu". 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 #153,798 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.