Which to use
“récif” and “récré” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #31,238
- “récif” frequency rank
- #21,457
- “récré” frequency rank
- 52695
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | récif | récré |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Rocher ou chaîne de rochers à fleur d’eau, dans la mer. | Période de la journée scolaire durant laquelle les enfants peuvent sortir et s’amuser. |
Where the eye mixes récif and récré
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. récif (CVCVC) and récré (CVCCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between récif and récré
A purely visual mix-up. récif (\ʁe.sif\) and récré (\ʁe.kʁe\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 52695, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
récif is recorded at frequency rank #31,238, classified as anoun, pronounced \ʁe.sif\. récré is at rank #21,457, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ʁe.kʁe\.
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 52695, this pair ranks #145,914 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of récif vs récré
Shared letters: cré. Private to "récif": fi. Private to "récré": -.
"récif" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "récré" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "récif" and "récré" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "récif" vs "récré" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "récif" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "récré" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #145,914 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "récif" and "récré" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "récif vs relit". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #145,914 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.