Which to use
“tuer” is a verb and “tueur” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,426
- “tuer” frequency rank
- #6,251
- “tueur” frequency rank
- 7677
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | tuer | tueur |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Ôter la vie d’une manière violente ; ne se dit pas quand il s’agit d'une euthanasie, ni à la forme pronominale dans le cas d’une mort accidentelle par noyade, étouffement ou empoisonnement : on emploie alors se noyer, s’étouffer, s’empoisonner. | Personne qui tue, commet un meurtre. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set tuer and tueur apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
tuer and tueur form a confusable pair in the French index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 7677, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
tuer is recorded at frequency rank #1,426, classified as averb, pronounced \tɥe\. tueur is at rank #6,251, tagged as anoun, pronounced \tɥœʁ\.
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 7677, this pair ranks #422,473 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "tuer" and "tueur" be used interchangeably?
Remembering tuer vs tueur
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “tuer”; for a noun, it's “tueur”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “tuer” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable