Which to use
“prétendez” is a verb and “prétendue” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #37,502
- “prétendez” frequency rank
- #18,841
- “prétendue” frequency rank
- 56343
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | prétendez | prétendue |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Deuxième personne du pluriel de l’indicatif présent de prétendre. | Féminin singulier de prétendu. |
Where the eye mixes prétendez and prétendue
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. prétendez (CCVCVCCVC) and prétendue (CCVCVCCVV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses prétendez with prétendue
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: prétendez is \pʁe.tɑ̃.de\ while prétendue is \pʁe.tɑ̃.dy\. 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 adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 56343, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
prétendez is recorded at frequency rank #37,502, classified as averb, pronounced \pʁe.tɑ̃.de\. prétendue is at rank #18,841, tagged as anadj, pronounced \pʁe.tɑ̃.dy\.
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 56343, this pair ranks #121,692 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of prétendez vs prétendue
Shared letters: denprté. Private to "prétendez": z. Private to "prétendue": u.
"prétendez" · 9 letters · shape CCVCVCCVC · "prétendue" · 9 letters · shape CCVCVCCVV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "prétendez" for "prétendue" ever safe?
In ordinary French text, does "prétendez" or "prétendue" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "prétendez" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "prétendue" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #121,692 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "prétendez" and "prétendue" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "prétendez vs prétendues". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #121,692 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.