réalise vs reality, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“réalise” is a verb and “reality” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#3,290
“réalise” frequency rank: #35,676
“reality” frequency rank: 38966
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	réalise	reality
Definition	Première personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de réaliser.	Réalité.

Where the spellings diverge

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

7 ch

réalise

7 ch

reality

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: réalise is \ʁe.a.liz\ while reality is \ɹi.ˈæl.ɪ.ti\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38966, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

réalise is recorded at frequency rank #3,290, classified as averb, pronounced \ʁe.a.liz\. reality is at rank #35,676, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ɹi.ˈæl.ɪ.ti\.

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 38966, this pair ranks #251,523 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of réalise vs reality

Shared letters: aeilr. Private to "réalise": sé. Private to "reality": ty.

"réalise" · 7 letters · shape CVVCVCV · "reality" · 7 letters · shape CVVCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

reality ← erality · raelity · reailty · realitty · realityy · realiyt · reallity · realtiy

Frequency comparison

réalise#3,290

reality#35,676

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "réalise" and "reality" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "réalise" is a verb and "reality" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "réalise" or "reality"?

"réalise" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,290 in our French list, against #35,676 for "reality". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering réalise vs reality

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “réalise”; for a noun, it's “reality”.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “réalise” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable