Which to use
“prévenus” and “prévus” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #12,230
- “prévenus” frequency rank
- #6,427
- “prévus” frequency rank
- 18657
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | prévenus | prévus |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Masculin pluriel de prévenu. | Masculin pluriel de prévu. |
Where the eye mixes prévenus and prévus
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. prévenus runs 8 letters (CCVCVCVC) against prévus's 6 (CCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: prévenus vs prévus
A purely visual mix-up. prévenus (\pʁe.və.ny\) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 18657, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
prévenus is recorded at frequency rank #12,230, classified as anadj, pronounced \pʁe.və.ny\. 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 18657, this pair ranks #377,180 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of prévenus vs prévus
Shared letters: prsuvé. Private to "prévenus": en. Private to "prévus": -.
"prévenus" · 8 letters · shape CCVCVCVC · "prévus" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "prévenus" and "prévus" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "prévenus" vs "prévus" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "prévenus" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "prévus" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #377,180 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "prévenus" and "prévus" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "prépas vs prévus". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #377,180 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.