têtu vs tou, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#23,059
“têtu” frequency rank: #17,579
“tou” frequency rank: 40638
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	têtu	tou
Definition	Opiniâtre, obstiné, qui ne veut pas démordre de son idée, opinion, ou volonté.	Serment.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set têtu and tou apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch

têtu

3 ch

tou

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: têtu is \tɛ.ty\ while tou is \ˈtu:\. 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 noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40638, 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\. tou is at rank #17,579, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ˈtu:\.

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 40638, this pair ranks #239,067 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of têtu vs tou

Shared letters: tu. Private to "têtu": ê. Private to "tou": o.

"têtu" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "tou" · 3 letters · shape CVV

Frequency comparison

têtu#23,059

tou#17,579

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "têtu" and "tou" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "têtu" is an adjective and "tou" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "têtu" or "tou"?

"tou" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #17,579 in our French list, against #23,059 for "têtu". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering têtu vs tou

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 “tou”.
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