Which to use
“raté” is an adjective and “Re” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #3,217
- “raté” frequency rank
- #2,641
- “Re” frequency rank
- 5858
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | raté | Re |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Qui a raté, qui a échoué, qui n’a pas atteint son but. | Taux effectif de transmission d’une maladie. |
Where the eye mixes raté and Re
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Why the eye confuses raté with Re
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: raté is \ʁa.te\ while Re is \ɛ.ʁœ\. 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 5858, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
raté is recorded at frequency rank #3,217, classified as anadj, pronounced \ʁa.te\. Re is at rank #2,641, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ɛ.ʁœ\.
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 5858, this pair ranks #427,873 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of raté vs Re
Shared letters: r. Private to "raté": até. Private to "Re": e.
"raté" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "Re" · 2 letters · shape CV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "raté" for "Re" ever safe?
In ordinary French text, does "raté" or "Re" show up more?
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 "raté" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Re" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #427,873 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "raté" and "Re" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "RAMQ vs raté". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #427,873 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.