Presque Vu
Presque vu is the feeling of standing right at the edge of a realisation — a name, a word, an insight — that never quite arrives.
Full definition of Presque Vu →:: COMPARE ::
Presque vuvsDéjà vu
The short answer
Both are familiarity signals misfiring, but they point in different directions in time. Déjà vu says 'this already happened'; presque vu says 'the answer is about to arrive'. One is a false report about the past, the other a forecast about the next few seconds — and the forecast is often right.
Side by side
| Aspect | Presque vu | Déjà vu |
|---|---|---|
| Points | Forward | Backward |
| Claims | It's coming | It happened |
| Often accurate | Yes | No |
| French for | Almost seen | Already seen |
What each one means
Déjà Vu
The sudden conviction that a genuinely new situation has happened before — and one leading explanation, induced in the laboratory, is a spatial layout you saw once and forgot.
Full definition of Déjà Vu →