récifsvsrégiesConfusable pair

Which to use

“récifs” and “régies” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#27,951
“récifs” frequency rank
#24,380
“régies” frequency rank
52331
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature récifs régies
Definition Pluriel de récif. Pluriel de régie.

Where the eye mixes récifs and régies

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. récifs (CVCVCC) and régies (CVCVVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

6 ch
récifs
6 ch
régies

Look-alike desk: récifs vs régies

A purely visual mix-up. récifs (\ʁe.sif\) and régies (\ʁe.ʒi\) 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 52331, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

récifs is recorded at frequency rank #27,951, classified as anoun, pronounced \ʁe.sif\. régies is at rank #24,380, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ʁe.ʒi\.

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 52331, this pair ranks #148,458 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of récifs vs régies

Shared letters: irsé. Private to "récifs": cf. Private to "régies": eg.

"récifs" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC  ·  "régies" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "récifs" and "régies" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently (\ʁe.sif\ versus \ʁe.ʒi\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "récifs" vs "régies" - which ranks higher?
"régies" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #24,380 in our French list, against #27,951 for "récifs". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "récifs" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "régies" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #148,458 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "récifs" and "régies" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "récifs vs Reis". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #148,458 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list