Which to use
“usé” is an adjective and “usure” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #13,292
- “usé” frequency rank
- #11,499
- “usure” frequency rank
- 24791
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | usé | usure |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Détérioré, diminué par le frottement, ruiné. | Intérêt, profit qu’on exige d’un argent ou d’une marchandise prêtée, au-dessus du taux fixé par la loi ou établi par l’usage en matière de commerce. |
Where the eye mixes usé and usure
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between usé and usure
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: usé is \y.ze\ while usure is \y.zyʁ\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 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 24791, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
usé is recorded at frequency rank #13,292, classified as anadj, pronounced \y.ze\. usure is at rank #11,499, tagged as anoun, pronounced \y.zyʁ\.
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 24791, this pair ranks #344,591 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of usé vs usure
Shared letters: su. Private to "usé": é. Private to "usure": er.
"usé" · 3 letters · shape VCV · "usure" · 5 letters · shape VCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- usure ← suure · usrue · ussure · usuer · usurre · uusre
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "usé" and "usure" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "usé" or "usure"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "usé" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "usure" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #344,591 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "usé" and "usure" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Ubu vs usé". 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 #344,591 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.