Which to use
“neue” and “nues” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #44,599
- “neue” frequency rank
- #9,205
- “nues” frequency rank
- 53804
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | neue | nues |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Accusatif pluriel (à tous les genres) de la déclinaison forte de neu. | Féminin pluriel de nu. |
Where the eye mixes neue and nues
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. neue (CVVV) and nues (CVVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses neue with nues
A purely visual mix-up. neue (\ˈnɔɪ̯ə\) and nues (\ny\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 53804, 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\. nues is at rank #9,205, tagged as anadj, pronounced \ny\.
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 53804, this pair ranks #138,245 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of neue vs nues
Shared letters: enu. Private to "neue": -. Private to "nues": s.
"neue" · 4 letters · shape CVVV · "nues" · 4 letters · shape CVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "neue" and "nues" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary French text, does "neue" or "nues" show up more?
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 "neue" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "nues" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #138,245 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "neue" and "nues" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "neue vs noués". 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 #138,245 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.