neuevsneufsWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“neue” and “neufs” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#44,599
“neue” frequency rank
#10,037
“neufs” frequency rank
54636
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature neue neufs
Definition Accusatif pluriel (à tous les genres) de la déclinaison forte de neu. Masculin pluriel de neuf.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set neue and neufs apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
neue
5 ch
neufs

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. neue (\ˈnɔɪ̯ə\) and neufs (\nœf\) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 54636, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

neue is recorded at frequency rank #44,599, classified as anadj, pronounced \ˈnɔɪ̯ə\. neufs is at rank #10,037, tagged as anadj, pronounced \nœf\.

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 54636, this pair ranks #132,676 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of neue vs neufs

Shared letters: enu. Private to "neue": -. Private to "neufs": fs.

"neue" · 4 letters · shape CVVV  ·  "neufs" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • neueenue · neeu · nneue
  • neufsenufs · nefus · neuffs · neufss · neusf · nneufs · nuefs

Frequency comparison

neue#44,599
neufs#10,037

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "neue" and "neufs" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\ˈnɔɪ̯ə\ versus \nœf\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "neue" or "neufs"?
"neufs" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,037 in our French list, against #44,599 for "neue". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering neue vs neufs

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “neue” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list