répandusvsréponduWhich spelling fits?

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

Which to use

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

#24,382
“répandus” frequency rank
#2,017
“répondu” frequency rank
26399
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature répandus répondu
Definition Masculin pluriel de répandu. Participe passé masculin singulier de répondre.

Where the eye mixes répandus and répondu

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. répandus runs 8 letters (CVCVCCVC) against répondu's 7 (CVCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
répandus
7 ch
répondu

Why the eye confuses répandus with répondu

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: répandus is \ʁe.pɑ̃.dy\ while répondu is \ʁe.pɔ̃.dy\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 26399, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

répandus is recorded at frequency rank #24,382, classified as anadj, pronounced \ʁe.pɑ̃.dy\. répondu is at rank #2,017, tagged as averb, pronounced \ʁe.pɔ̃.dy\.

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 26399, this pair ranks #335,236 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of répandus vs répondu

Shared letters: dnprué. Private to "répandus": as. Private to "répondu": o.

"répandus" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC  ·  "répondu" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "répandus" and "répondu" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "répandus" is an adjective and "répondu" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "répandus" or "répondu"?
"répondu" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,017 in our French list, against #24,382 for "répandus". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "répandus" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "répondu" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #335,236 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "répandus" and "répondu" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "répandus vs revendus". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #335,236 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