recettevsregretteWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: recette is a noun, regrette is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

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

#3,496
“recette” frequency rank
#3,218
“regrette” frequency rank
6714
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature recette regrette
Definition Ensemble des étapes nécessaire à la réalisation d’un plat en cuisine. Première personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de regretter.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set recette and regrette apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
recette
8 ch
regrette

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: recette is \ʁə.sɛt\ while regrette is \ʁə.ɡʁɛt\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 6714, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

recette is recorded at frequency rank #3,496, classified as anoun, pronounced \ʁə.sɛt\. regrette is at rank #3,218, tagged as averb, pronounced \ʁə.ɡʁɛt\.

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 6714, this pair ranks #425,446 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of recette vs regrette

Shared letters: ert. Private to "recette": c. Private to "regrette": g.

"recette" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV  ·  "regrette" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • recetteercette · rceette · reccette · recete · recetet · rectete · reectte · rrecette
  • regretteergrette · regertte · reggrette · regrete · regretet · regrrette · regrtete · rergette

Frequency comparison

recette#3,496
regrette#3,218

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "recette" and "regrette" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "recette" is a noun and "regrette" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "recette" or "regrette"?
"regrette" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,218 in our French list, against #3,496 for "recette". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering recette vs regrette

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “recette”; for a verb, it's “regrette”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “recette” 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