Which to use
“tat” is a verb and “têtu” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #38,065
- “tat” frequency rank
- #23,059
- “têtu” frequency rank
- 61124
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | tat | têtu |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Première personne du singulier du prétérit de l’indicatif à la forme active de tun. | Opiniâtre, obstiné, qui ne veut pas démordre de son idée, opinion, ou volonté. |
Where the eye mixes tat and têtu
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. tat runs 3 letters (CVC) against têtu's 4 (CVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses tat with têtu
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: tat is \taːt\ while têtu is \tɛ.ty\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 61124, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
tat is recorded at frequency rank #38,065, classified as averb, pronounced \taːt\. têtu is at rank #23,059, tagged as anadj, pronounced \tɛ.ty\.
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 61124, this pair ranks #93,938 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of tat vs têtu
Shared letters: t. Private to "tat": a. Private to "têtu": uê.
"tat" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "têtu" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "tat" and "têtu" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "tat" vs "têtu" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "tat" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "têtu" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #93,938 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "tat" and "têtu" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tat vs tif". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #93,938 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.