Which to use
“récompense” is a noun and “récompenser” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #4,182
- “récompense” frequency rank
- #13,683
- “récompenser” frequency rank
- 17865
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | récompense | récompenser |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Bien qu’on fait à quelqu’un, en reconnaissance d’un service ou en faveur d’une bonne action. | Donner une récompense, faire du bien à quelqu’un en reconnaissance de quelque service, ou en faveur de quelque bonne action. |
Where the eye mixes récompense and récompenser
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence. récompense runs 10 letters (CVCVCCVCCV) against récompenser's 11 (CVCVCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between récompense and récompenser
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: récompense is \ʁe.kɔ̃.pɑ̃s\ while récompenser is \ʁe.kɔ̃.pɑ̃.se\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “récompense” sits inside “récompenser”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17865, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
récompense is recorded at frequency rank #4,182, classified as anoun, pronounced \ʁe.kɔ̃.pɑ̃s\. récompenser is at rank #13,683, tagged as averb, pronounced \ʁe.kɔ̃.pɑ̃.se\.
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 17865, this pair ranks #381,089 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of récompense vs récompenser
Shared letters: cemnoprsé. Private to "récompense": -. Private to "récompenser": -.
"récompense" · 10 letters · shape CVCVCCVCCV · "récompenser" · 11 letters · shape CVCVCCVCCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "récompense" and "récompenser" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "récompense" vs "récompenser" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "récompense" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "récompenser" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #381,089 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "récompense" and "récompenser" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "récompensées vs récompenser". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #381,089 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.