Which to use
“réponds” and “répondu” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #3,797
- “réponds” frequency rank
- #2,017
- “répondu” frequency rank
- 5814
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | réponds | répondu |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Première personne du singulier de l’indicatif présent de répondre. | Participe passé masculin singulier de répondre. |
Where the eye mixes réponds and répondu
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. réponds (CVCVCCC) and répondu (CVCVCCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between réponds and répondu
A purely visual mix-up. réponds (\ʁe.pɔ̃\) 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 - s in “réponds” becomes u in “répondu”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 5814, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
réponds is recorded at frequency rank #3,797, classified as averb, pronounced \ʁe.pɔ̃\. 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 5814, this pair ranks #428,002 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of réponds vs répondu
Shared letters: dnopré. Private to "réponds": s. Private to "répondu": u.
"réponds" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCC · "répondu" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "réponds" for "répondu" ever safe?
Frequency check: "réponds" vs "répondu" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "réponds" and "répondu" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "réponds" 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 #428,002 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "réponds" and "répondu" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "réponds vs rêvons". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #428,002 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.