râlervsraserWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“râler” and “raser” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#18,865
“râler” frequency rank
#12,233
“raser” frequency rank
31098
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature râler raser
Definition Faire entendre un râle, des râles en respirant. Tondre, couper le poil ou les cheveux tout près de la peau avec un rasoir.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set râler and raser apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
râler
5 ch
raser

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. râler (\ʁa.le\) and raser (\ʁɑ.ze\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 31098, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

râler is recorded at frequency rank #18,865, classified as averb, pronounced \ʁa.le\. raser is at rank #12,233, tagged as averb, pronounced \ʁɑ.ze\.

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 31098, this pair ranks #305,989 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of râler vs raser

Shared letters: er. Private to "râler": . Private to "raser": as.

"râler" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "raser" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • raserarser · raesr · raserr · rasre · rasser · rraser · rsaer

Frequency comparison

râler#18,865
raser#12,233

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "râler" and "raser" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\ʁa.le\ versus \ʁɑ.ze\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "râler" or "raser"?
"raser" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,233 in our French list, against #18,865 for "râler". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering râler vs raser

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “râler” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list