récrévsrécupWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#21,457
“récré” frequency rank
#27,952
“récup” frequency rank
49409
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature récré récup
Definition Période de la journée scolaire durant laquelle les enfants peuvent sortir et s’amuser. Technique de restauration ou de création à partir d’objets anciens.

Where the spellings diverge

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

5 ch
récré
5 ch
récup

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. récré (\ʁe.kʁe\) and récup (\ʁe.kyp\) 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 49409, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

récré is recorded at frequency rank #21,457, classified as anoun, pronounced \ʁe.kʁe\. récup is at rank #27,952, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ʁe.kyp\.

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 49409, this pair ranks #170,919 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of récré vs récup

Shared letters: cré. Private to "récré": -. Private to "récup": pu.

"récré" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "récup" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Frequency comparison

récré#21,457
récup#27,952

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "récré" and "récup" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\ʁe.kʁe\ versus \ʁe.kyp\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "récré" or "récup"?
"récré" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #21,457 in our French list, against #27,952 for "récup". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering récré vs récup

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 “récré” 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