réponds vs répondu, What's the Difference?

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 spellings diverge

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

7 ch

réponds

7 ch

répondu

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

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

Frequency comparison

réponds#3,797

répondu#2,017

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "réponds" and "répondu" be used interchangeably?

No. They are said differently (\ʁe.pɔ̃\ versus \ʁe.pɔ̃.dy\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.

Which is more common, "réponds" or "répondu"?

"répondu" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,017 in our French list, against #3,797 for "réponds". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering réponds 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 “réponds” entry
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