Which to use
“prêts” and “prévu” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,972
- “prêts” frequency rank
- #1,401
- “prévu” frequency rank
- 3373
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | prêts | prévu |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Masculin pluriel de prêt. | Qui a été prévu, à quoi l’on s’attend. |
Where the eye mixes prêts and prévu
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses prêts with prévu
A purely visual mix-up. prêts (\pʁɛ\) and prévu (\pʁe.vy\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 3373, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
prêts is recorded at frequency rank #1,972, classified as anadj, pronounced \pʁɛ\. prévu is at rank #1,401, tagged as anadj, pronounced \pʁe.vy\.
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 3373, this pair ranks #434,190 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of prêts vs prévu
Shared letters: pr. Private to "prêts": stê. Private to "prévu": uvé.
"prêts" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC · "prévu" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "prêts" for "prévu" ever safe?
Frequency check: "prêts" vs "prévu" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "prêts" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "prévu" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #434,190 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "prêts" and "prévu" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "prep vs prêts". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #434,190 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.