récifvsreçuWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: récif is a noun, reçu is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

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

#31,238
“récif” frequency rank
#813
“reçu” frequency rank
32051
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature récif reçu
Definition Rocher ou chaîne de rochers à fleur d’eau, dans la mer. Qui est admis, établi, consacré.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set récif and reçu apart are highlighted. They share 1 letter in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
récif
4 ch
reçu

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: récif is \ʁe.sif\ while reçu is \ʁə.sy\. 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 adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 32051, 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\. reçu is at rank #813, tagged as anadj, pronounced \ʁə.sy\.

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 32051, this pair ranks #299,849 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of récif vs reçu

Shared letters: r. Private to "récif": cfié. Private to "reçu": euç.

"récif" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "reçu" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Frequency comparison

récif#31,238
reçu#813

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "récif" and "reçu" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "récif" is a noun and "reçu" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "récif" or "reçu"?
"reçu" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #813 in our French list, against #31,238 for "récif". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering récif vs reçu

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “récif”; for an adjective, it's “reçu”.
  • 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