Which to use
“prévenu” is an adjective and “prévenue” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #4,794
- “prévenu” frequency rank
- #22,385
- “prévenue” frequency rank
- 27179
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | prévenu | prévenue |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Qui a par avance des sentiments favorables ou défavorables. | Celle qui comparaît devant un tribunal correctionnel, à la suite de la commission soupçonnée d’un ou plusieurs délits. |
Same sound, different letters: prévenu vs prévenue
Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 7 letters. prévenu runs 7 letters (CCVCVCV) against prévenue's 8 (CCVCVCVV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Ear matches; page differs - prévenu and prévenue
Say them out loud and nothing separates them: prévenu and prévenue carry the same recorded pronunciation, \pʁɛv.ny\. Grammar is what tells them apart: one is anadjective, the other anoun, so most sentences will only accept one of them. They differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “prévenu” sits inside “prévenue”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 27179, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
prévenu is recorded at frequency rank #4,794, classified as anadj, pronounced \pʁɛv.ny\. prévenue is at rank #22,385, tagged as anoun, pronounced \pʁɛv.ny\.
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 27179, this pair ranks #330,628 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of prévenu vs prévenue
Shared letters: enpruvé. Private to "prévenu": -. Private to "prévenue": -.
"prévenu" · 7 letters · shape CCVCVCV · "prévenue" · 8 letters · shape CCVCVCVV
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "prévenu" and "prévenue" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "prévenu" or "prévenue"?
What to do next
Sound matches; spelling doesn't. Use the exits below to lock the right form or check a cousin pair.
- Full dictionary entry for "prévenu" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "prévenue" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #330,628 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "prévenu" and "prévenue" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "prévenez vs prévenue". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #330,628 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.