peu vs pu, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“peu” is an adverb and “pu” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#95
“peu” frequency rank: #307
“pu” frequency rank: 402
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	peu	pu
Definition	Presque pas ; pas beaucoup.	Participe passé masculin singulier du verbe pouvoir.

Where the eye mixes peu and pu

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

3 ch

peu

2 ch

Why the eye confuses peu with pu

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: peu is \pø\ while pu is \py\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adverb vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 402, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

peu is recorded at frequency rank #95, classified as anadv, pronounced \pø\. pu is at rank #307, tagged as averb, pronounced \py\.

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 402, this pair ranks #439,703 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of peu vs pu

Shared letters: pu. Private to "peu": e. Private to "pu": -.

"peu" · 3 letters · shape CVV · "pu" · 2 letters · shape CV

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "peu" for "pu" ever safe?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "peu" is an adverb and "pu" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "peu" or "pu"?

"peu" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #95 in our French list, against #307 for "pu". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

Full dictionary entry for "peu" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
Full dictionary entry for "pu" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
This pair ranks #439,703 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
"peu" and "pu" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "peu vs prep". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #439,703 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.