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 eye mixes réponde and répondu
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. réponde and répondu follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVCCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses réponde with répondu
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
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "réponde" for "répondu" ever safe?
Which is more common, "réponde" or "répondu"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "réponde" 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 #386,161 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "réponde" and "répondu" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "refonder vs réponde". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #386,161 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.