Which to use
“récepteur” and “recteur” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #15,244
- “récepteur” frequency rank
- #11,652
- “recteur” frequency rank
- 26896
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | récepteur | recteur |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Qui reçoit. | Qui dirige, dirigeant. |
Where the eye mixes récepteur and recteur
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. récepteur runs 9 letters (CVCVCCVVC) against recteur's 7 (CVCCVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses récepteur with recteur
A purely visual mix-up. récepteur (\ʁe.sɛp.tœʁ\) and recteur (\ʁɛk.tœʁ\) 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 26896, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
récepteur is recorded at frequency rank #15,244, classified as anadj, pronounced \ʁe.sɛp.tœʁ\. recteur is at rank #11,652, tagged as anadj, pronounced \ʁɛk.tœʁ\.
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 26896, this pair ranks #332,188 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of récepteur vs recteur
Shared letters: certu. Private to "récepteur": pé. Private to "recteur": -.
"récepteur" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCVVC · "recteur" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- recteur ← ercteur · rceteur · reccteur · recetur · recteru · recteurr · rectteur · rectuer
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "récepteur" for "recteur" ever safe?
In ordinary French text, does "récepteur" or "recteur" show up more?
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 "récepteur" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "recteur" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #332,188 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "récepteur" and "recteur" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "récepteur vs rédempteur". 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 #332,188 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.