Which to use
“recueil” and “recul” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #4,275
- “recueil” frequency rank
- #4,368
- “recul” frequency rank
- 8643
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | recueil | recul |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Action de recueillir ; résultat de cette action. | Action de reculer. |
Where the eye mixes recueil and recul
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. recueil runs 7 letters (CVCVVVC) against recul's 5 (CVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses recueil with recul
A purely visual mix-up. recueil (\ʁə.kœj\) and recul (\ʁə.kyl\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 8643, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
recueil is recorded at frequency rank #4,275, classified as anoun, pronounced \ʁə.kœj\. recul is at rank #4,368, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ʁə.kyl\.
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 8643, this pair ranks #419,336 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of recueil vs recul
Shared letters: celru. Private to "recueil": i. Private to "recul": -.
"recueil" · 7 letters · shape CVCVVVC · "recul" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "recueil" and "recul" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "recueil" or "recul"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "recueil" and "recul" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "recueil" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "recul" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #419,336 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "recueil" and "recul" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "recul vs rénal". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #419,336 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.