têtuvstêtueWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: têtu is a adjective, têtue is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“têtu” is an adjective and “têtue” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#23,059
“têtu” frequency rank
#42,667
“têtue” frequency rank
65726
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature têtu têtue
Definition Opiniâtre, obstiné, qui ne veut pas démordre de son idée, opinion, ou volonté. Femme obstinée.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set têtu and têtue apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
têtu
5 ch
têtue

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Say them out loud and nothing separates them: têtu and têtue carry the same recorded pronunciation, \tɛ.ty\. Grammar is what tells them apart: one is anadjective, the other anoun, so most sentences will only accept one of them. They differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “têtu” sits inside “têtue”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 65726, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

têtu is recorded at frequency rank #23,059, classified as anadj, pronounced \tɛ.ty\. têtue is at rank #42,667, tagged as anoun, 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 65726, this pair ranks #71,039 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of têtu vs têtue

Shared letters: tuê. Private to "têtu": -. Private to "têtue": e.

"têtu" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "têtue" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV

Frequency comparison

têtu#23,059
têtue#42,667

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "têtu" and "têtue" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "têtu" is an adjective and "têtue" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "têtu" or "têtue"?
"têtu" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #23,059 in our French list, against #42,667 for "têtue". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering têtu vs têtue

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “têtu”; for a noun, it's “têtue”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “têtu” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list