râlervsravalerWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#18,865
“râler” frequency rank
#44,673
“ravaler” frequency rank
63538
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature râler ravaler
Definition Faire entendre un râle, des râles en respirant. Ingurgiter de nouveau, faire descendre dans le gosier.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set râler and ravaler apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
râler
7 ch
ravaler

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. râler (\ʁa.le\) and ravaler (\ʁa.va.le\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 63538, 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\. ravaler is at rank #44,673, tagged as averb, pronounced \ʁa.va.le\.

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 63538, this pair ranks #81,482 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of râler vs ravaler

Shared letters: elr. Private to "râler": â. Private to "ravaler": av.

"râler" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "ravaler" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • ravalerarvaler · raavler · ravaelr · ravalerr · ravaller · ravalre · ravlaer · ravvaler

Frequency comparison

râler#18,865
ravaler#44,673

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "râler" and "ravaler" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\ʁa.le\ versus \ʁa.va.le\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "râler" or "ravaler"?
"râler" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #18,865 in our French list, against #44,673 for "ravaler". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering râler vs ravaler

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