prêtsvsprévusWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“prêts” and “prévus” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#1,972
“prêts” frequency rank
#6,427
“prévus” frequency rank
8399
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature prêts prévus
Definition Masculin pluriel de prêt. Masculin pluriel de prévu.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set prêts and prévus apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
prêts
6 ch
prévus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. prêts (\pʁɛ\) and prévus (\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 differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 8399, 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\. prévus is at rank #6,427, 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 8399, this pair ranks #420,161 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of prêts vs prévus

Shared letters: prs. Private to "prêts": . Private to "prévus": uvé.

"prêts" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC  ·  "prévus" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC

Frequency comparison

prêts#1,972
prévus#6,427

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "prêts" and "prévus" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\pʁɛ\ versus \pʁe.vy\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "prêts" or "prévus"?
"prêts" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,972 in our French list, against #6,427 for "prévus". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering prêts vs prévus

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “prêts” 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