Which to use
“queue” is a noun and “quote” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #2,954
- “queue” frequency rank
- #20,831
- “quote” frequency rank
- 23785
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | queue | quote |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Appendice postérieur, plus ou moins développé, qui termine la colonne vertébrale d’un très grand nombre de vertébrés. | Première personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de quoter. |
Where the eye mixes queue and quote
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: queue vs quote
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: queue is \kø\ while quote is \kwot\. 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 (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 23785, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
queue is recorded at frequency rank #2,954, classified as anoun, pronounced \kø\. quote is at rank #20,831, tagged as averb, pronounced \kwot\.
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 23785, this pair ranks #350,473 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of queue vs quote
Shared letters: equ. Private to "queue": -. Private to "quote": ot.
"queue" · 5 letters · shape CVVVV · "quote" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "queue" for "quote" ever safe?
Which is more common, "queue" or "quote"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "queue" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "quote" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #350,473 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "queue" and "quote" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "quite vs quote". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #350,473 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.