Which to use
“tendu” and “têtu” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #6,247
- “tendu” frequency rank
- #23,059
- “têtu” frequency rank
- 29306
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | tendu | têtu |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Qui subit une tension (arc, élastique, ressort, etc.). | Opiniâtre, obstiné, qui ne veut pas démordre de son idée, opinion, ou volonté. |
Where the eye mixes tendu and têtu
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between tendu and têtu
A purely visual mix-up. tendu (\tɑ̃.dy\) and têtu (\tɛ.ty\) 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 29306, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
tendu is recorded at frequency rank #6,247, classified as anadj, pronounced \tɑ̃.dy\. 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 29306, this pair ranks #317,508 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of tendu vs têtu
Shared letters: tu. Private to "tendu": den. Private to "têtu": ê.
"tendu" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "têtu" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- tendu ← etndu · tednu · tenddu · tenndu · tenud · tnedu · ttendu
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "tendu" and "têtu" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "tendu" vs "têtu" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "tendu" and "têtu" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "tendu" 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 #317,508 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "tendu" and "têtu" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ténue vs têtu". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #317,508 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.