Which to use
“reçu” is an adjective and “récup” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #813
- “reçu” frequency rank
- #27,952
- “récup” frequency rank
- 28765
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | reçu | récup |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Qui est admis, établi, consacré. | Technique de restauration ou de création à partir d’objets anciens. |
Where the eye mixes reçu and récup
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. reçu runs 4 letters (CVCV) against récup's 5 (CVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: reçu vs récup
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: reçu is \ʁə.sy\ while récup is \ʁe.kyp\. 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 (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 28765, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
reçu is recorded at frequency rank #813, classified as anadj, pronounced \ʁə.sy\. 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 28765, this pair ranks #320,860 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of reçu vs récup
Shared letters: ru. Private to "reçu": eç. Private to "récup": cpé.
"reçu" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "récup" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "reçu" and "récup" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "reçu" or "récup"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "reçu" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "récup" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #320,860 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "reçu" and "récup" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "rébus vs récup". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #320,860 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.