récepteurs vs recteurs, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“récepteurs” is an adjective and “recteurs” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#20,554
“récepteurs” frequency rank: #37,514
“recteurs” frequency rank: 58068
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	récepteurs	recteurs
Definition	Masculin pluriel de récepteur.	Pluriel de recteur.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set récepteurs and recteurs apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

10 ch

récepteurs

8 ch

recteurs

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: récepteurs is \ʁe.sɛp.tœʁ\ while recteurs is \ʁɛk.tœʁ\. 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 58068, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

récepteurs is recorded at frequency rank #20,554, classified as anadj, pronounced \ʁe.sɛp.tœʁ\. recteurs is at rank #37,514, tagged as anoun, 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 58068, this pair ranks #111,231 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of récepteurs vs recteurs

Shared letters: cerstu. Private to "récepteurs": pé. Private to "recteurs": -.

"récepteurs" · 10 letters · shape CVCVCCVVCC · "recteurs" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

recteurs ← ercteurs · rceteurs · reccteurs · receturs · recterus · recteurrs · recteurss · recteusr

Frequency comparison

récepteurs#20,554

recteurs#37,514

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "récepteurs" and "recteurs" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "récepteurs" is an adjective and "recteurs" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "récepteurs" or "recteurs"?

"récepteurs" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #20,554 in our French list, against #37,514 for "recteurs". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering récepteurs vs recteurs

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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