prenezvsprunesWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: prenez is a verb, prunes is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“prenez” is a verb and “prunes” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#2,539
“prenez” frequency rank
#29,925
“prunes” frequency rank
32464
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature prenez prunes
Definition Deuxième personne du pluriel de l’indicatif présent du verbe prendre. Pluriel de prune.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set prenez and prunes apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
prenez
6 ch
prunes

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: prenez is \pʁə.ne\ while prunes is \pʁyn\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 32464, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

prenez is recorded at frequency rank #2,539, classified as averb, pronounced \pʁə.ne\. prunes is at rank #29,925, tagged as anoun, pronounced \pʁyn\.

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 32464, this pair ranks #297,103 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of prenez vs prunes

Shared letters: enpr. Private to "prenez": z. Private to "prunes": su.

"prenez" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC  ·  "prunes" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • prenezpernez · pprenez · preenz · prenezz · prennez · prenze · prneez · prrenez
  • prunespprunes · prnues · prrunes · pruens · pruness · prunnes · prunse · purnes

Frequency comparison

prenez#2,539
prunes#29,925

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "prenez" and "prunes" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "prenez" is a verb and "prunes" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "prenez" or "prunes"?
"prenez" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,539 in our French list, against #29,925 for "prunes". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering prenez vs prunes

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “prenez”; for a noun, it's “prunes”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “prenez” 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