recelvsrecueilWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#27,211
“recel” frequency rank
#4,275
“recueil” frequency rank
31486
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature recel recueil
Definition Acte de celui ou de celle qui recèle. Action de recueillir ; résultat de cette action.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set recel and recueil apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
recel
7 ch
recueil

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. recel (\ʁə.sɛl\) and recueil (\ʁə.kœj\) 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 31486, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

recel is recorded at frequency rank #27,211, classified as anoun, pronounced \ʁə.sɛl\. recueil is at rank #4,275, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ʁə.kœj\.

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 31486, this pair ranks #303,504 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of recel vs recueil

Shared letters: celr. Private to "recel": -. Private to "recueil": iu.

"recel" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "recueil" · 7 letters · shape CVCVVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • recelercel · rceel · reccel · recell · recle · reecl · rrecel
  • recueilercueil · rceueil · reccueil · receuil · recueill · recueli · recuiel · reuceil

Frequency comparison

recel#27,211
recueil#4,275

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "recel" and "recueil" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\ʁə.sɛl\ versus \ʁə.kœj\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "recel" or "recueil"?
"recueil" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,275 in our French list, against #27,211 for "recel". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering recel vs recueil

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 “recel” 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