Which to use
“récompensée” and “récompenser” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #21,455
- “récompensée” frequency rank
- #13,683
- “récompenser” frequency rank
- 35138
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | récompensée | récompenser |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Participe passé féminin singulier de récompenser. | Donner une récompense, faire du bien à quelqu’un en reconnaissance de quelque service, ou en faveur de quelque bonne action. |
Same sound, different letters: récompensée vs récompenser
Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 10 letters. récompensée (CVCVCCVCCVV) and récompenser (CVCVCCVCCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Same sound, different spelling - récompensée / récompenser
This is the hard kind. récompensée and récompenser are pronounced identically (\ʁe.kɔ̃.pɑ̃.se\) and both work as averb. Neither the ear nor the grammar will rescue you; only the meaning does, so the glosses below are the whole decision. They share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 35138, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
récompensée is recorded at frequency rank #21,455, classified as averb, pronounced \ʁe.kɔ̃.pɑ̃.se\. 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 35138, this pair ranks #278,894 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of récompensée vs récompenser
Shared letters: cemnoprsé. Private to "récompensée": -. Private to "récompenser": -.
"récompensée" · 11 letters · shape CVCVCCVCCVV · "récompenser" · 11 letters · shape CVCVCCVCCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "récompensée" for "récompenser" ever safe?
Frequency check: "récompensée" vs "récompenser" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
You've separated the homophone pair "récompensée" / "récompenser". Follow the links when you need the full entry or a neighbour that trips the same ear.
- Full dictionary entry for "récompensée" 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 #278,894 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "récompensée" and "récompenser" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "récompensée vs récompensées". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #278,894 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.