Which to use
“peur” is a noun and “pût” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #467
- “peur” frequency rank
- #36,553
- “pût” frequency rank
- 37020
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | peur | pût |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Crainte, frayeur, émotion pénible produite par l’idée ou la vue d’un danger. | Troisième personne du singulier de l’imparfait du subjonctif du verbe pouvoir. |
Where the eye mixes peur and pût
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Why the eye confuses peur with pût
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: peur is \pœʁ\ while pût 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 (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 37020, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
peur is recorded at frequency rank #467, classified as anoun, pronounced \pœʁ\. pût is at rank #36,553, 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 37020, this pair ranks #265,447 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of peur vs pût
Shared letters: p. Private to "peur": eru. Private to "pût": tû.
"peur" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "pût" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- peur ← epur · peru · peurr · ppeur
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "peur" for "pût" ever safe?
Frequency check: "peur" vs "pût" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "peur" and "pût" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "peur" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "pût" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #265,447 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "peur" and "pût" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pio vs pût". 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 #265,447 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.