Which to use
“réa” and “relai” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #31,708
- “réa” frequency rank
- #32,558
- “relai” frequency rank
- 64266
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | réa | relai |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Roue dotée d’une gorge constituant la partie mobile d'une poulie. Tous les corps de métier ayant besoin de soulever de lourdes charges utilisent des poulies à multiples réas pour la réalisation de palans. Chacun des réas tourne librement. | Action de relayer : résultat de cette action. |
Where the eye mixes réa and relai
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. réa runs 3 letters (CVV) against relai's 5 (CVCVV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between réa and relai
A purely visual mix-up. réa (\ʁe.a\) and relai (\ʁə.lɛ\) 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 64266, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
réa is recorded at frequency rank #31,708, classified as anoun, pronounced \ʁe.a\. relai is at rank #32,558, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ʁə.lɛ\.
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 64266, this pair ranks #77,876 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of réa vs relai
Shared letters: ar. Private to "réa": é. Private to "relai": eil.
"réa" · 3 letters · shape CVV · "relai" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
- relai ← erlai · reali · relia · rellai · rleai · rrelai
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "réa" for "relai" ever safe?
Frequency check: "réa" vs "relai" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "réa" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "relai" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #77,876 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "réa" and "relai" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "relai vs relit". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #77,876 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.