récifvsrécréWhat's the difference?

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 spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set récif and récré apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
récif
5 ch
récré

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

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

Frequency comparison

récif#31,238
récré#21,457

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "récif" and "récré" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\ʁe.sif\ versus \ʁe.kʁe\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "récif" or "récré"?
"récré" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #21,457 in our French list, against #31,238 for "récif". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering récif vs récré

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 “récif” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list