Which to use
“ten” is an adjective and “tu” is a pronoun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #14,809
- “ten” frequency rank
- #40
- “tu” frequency rank
- 14849
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ten | tu |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Dix. | Pronom personnel sujet de la deuxième personne du singulier. |
Where the eye mixes ten and tu
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Visual trap between ten and tu
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ten is \ˈtɛn\ while tu is \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 (adjective vs pronoun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14849, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ten is recorded at frequency rank #14,809, classified as anadj, pronounced \ˈtɛn\. tu is at rank #40, tagged as apron, pronounced \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 14849, this pair ranks #394,950 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of ten vs tu
Shared letters: t. Private to "ten": en. Private to "tu": u.
"ten" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "tu" · 2 letters · shape CV
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "ten" and "tu" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary French text, does "ten" or "tu" show up more?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "ten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "tu" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #394,950 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ten" and "tu" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ten vs tif". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #394,950 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.