répondevsréponduWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“réponde” and “répondu” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#14,789
“réponde” frequency rank
#2,017
“répondu” frequency rank
16806
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature réponde répondu
Definition Première personne du singulier du présent du subjonctif de répondre. Participe passé masculin singulier de répondre.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set réponde and répondu apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
réponde
7 ch
répondu

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. réponde (\ʁe.pɔ̃d\) and répondu (\ʁe.pɔ̃.dy\) 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 a single letter - e in “réponde” becomes u in “répondu”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 16806, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

réponde is recorded at frequency rank #14,789, classified as averb, pronounced \ʁe.pɔ̃d\. 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 16806, this pair ranks #386,161 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of réponde vs répondu

Shared letters: dnopré. Private to "réponde": e. Private to "répondu": u.

"réponde" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV  ·  "répondu" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV

Frequency comparison

réponde#14,789
répondu#2,017

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "réponde" and "répondu" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\ʁe.pɔ̃d\ versus \ʁe.pɔ̃.dy\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "réponde" or "répondu"?
"répondu" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,017 in our French list, against #14,789 for "réponde". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering réponde vs répondu

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “réponde” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list