répanduvsrépondsConfusable pair

Quick tell: répandu is a adjective, réponds is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“répandu” is an adjective and “réponds” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#8,774
“répandu” frequency rank
#3,797
“réponds” frequency rank
12571
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature répandu réponds
Definition Que l’on a répandu ; qui est réparti, distribué. Première personne du singulier de l’indicatif présent de répondre.

Where the eye mixes répandu and réponds

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. répandu (CVCVCCV) and réponds (CVCVCCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

7 ch
répandu
7 ch
réponds

Why the eye confuses répandu with réponds

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: répandu is \ʁe.pɑ̃.dy\ while réponds is \ʁe.pɔ̃\. 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 (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 12571, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

répandu is recorded at frequency rank #8,774, classified as anadj, pronounced \ʁe.pɑ̃.dy\. réponds is at rank #3,797, tagged as averb, pronounced \ʁe.pɔ̃\.

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 12571, this pair ranks #404,679 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of répandu vs réponds

Shared letters: dnpré. Private to "répandu": au. Private to "réponds": os.

"répandu" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV  ·  "réponds" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCC

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "répandu" for "réponds" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "répandu" is an adjective and "réponds" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "répandu" vs "réponds" - which ranks higher?
"réponds" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,797 in our French list, against #8,774 for "répandu". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "répandu" and "réponds" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "répandu" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "réponds" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #404,679 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "répandu" and "réponds" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "réponds vs rêvons". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #404,679 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list