répondravsréponduConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#14,356
“répondra” frequency rank
#2,017
“répondu” frequency rank
16373
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature répondra répondu
Definition Troisième personne du singulier du futur de répondre. Participe passé masculin singulier de répondre.

Where the eye mixes répondra and répondu

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

8 ch
répondra
7 ch
répondu

Why the eye confuses répondra with répondu

A purely visual mix-up. répondra (\ʁe.pɔ̃.dʁa\) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 16373, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

répondra is recorded at frequency rank #14,356, classified as averb, pronounced \ʁe.pɔ̃.dʁa\. 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 16373, this pair ranks #388,124 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of répondra vs répondu

Shared letters: dnopré. Private to "répondra": a. Private to "répondu": u.

"répondra" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCCV  ·  "répondu" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "répondra" for "répondu" ever safe?
No. They are said differently (\ʁe.pɔ̃.dʁa\ versus \ʁe.pɔ̃.dy\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "répondra" vs "répondu" - which ranks higher?
"répondu" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,017 in our French list, against #14,356 for "répondra". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "répondra" 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 #388,124 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "répondra" and "répondu" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "répondra vs reposera". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #388,124 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