Which to use
“peu” and “prou” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #95
- “peu” frequency rank
- #27,198
- “prou” frequency rank
- 27293
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | peu | prou |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Presque pas ; pas beaucoup. | Assez, beaucoup. |
Where the eye mixes peu and prou
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between peu and prou
A purely visual mix-up. peu (\pø\) and prou (\pʁu\) 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 27293, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
peu is recorded at frequency rank #95, classified as anadv, pronounced \pø\. prou is at rank #27,198, tagged as anadv, pronounced \pʁu\.
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 27293, this pair ranks #329,908 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of peu vs prou
Shared letters: pu. Private to "peu": e. Private to "prou": or.
"peu" · 3 letters · shape CVV · "prou" · 4 letters · shape CCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
- prou ← pprou · prrou · pruo · rpou
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "peu" and "prou" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "peu" or "prou"?
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 "peu" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "prou" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #329,908 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "peu" and "prou" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "prep vs prou". 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 #329,908 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.