Which to use
“usé” is an adjective and “UTC” is a name - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #13,292
- “usé” frequency rank
- #23,406
- “UTC” frequency rank
- 36698
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | usé | UTC |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Détérioré, diminué par le frottement, ruiné. | Temps universel coordonné. |
Where the eye mixes usé and UTC
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Visual trap between usé and UTC
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: usé is \y.ze\ while UTC is \y.te.se\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs name), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 36698, 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\. UTC is at rank #23,406, tagged as aname, pronounced \y.te.se\.
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 36698, this pair ranks #267,739 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of usé vs UTC
Shared letters: u. Private to "usé": sé. Private to "UTC": ct.
"usé" · 3 letters · shape VCV · "UTC" · 3 letters · shape VCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "usé" and "UTC" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "usé" or "UTC"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "usé" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "UTC" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #267,739 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "usé" and "UTC" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Ubu vs UTC". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #267,739 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.