Which to use
“redoubler” and “refouler” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #19,648
- “redoubler” frequency rank
- #32,152
- “refouler” frequency rank
- 51800
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | redoubler | refouler |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Augmenter ; doubler. | Fouler (presser) de nouveau. |
Where the eye mixes redoubler and refouler
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. redoubler runs 9 letters (CVCVVCCVC) against refouler's 8 (CVCVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses redoubler with refouler
A purely visual mix-up. redoubler (\ʁə.du.ble\) and refouler (\ʁə.fu.le\) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 51800, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
redoubler is recorded at frequency rank #19,648, classified as averb, pronounced \ʁə.du.ble\. refouler is at rank #32,152, tagged as averb, pronounced \ʁə.fu.le\.
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 51800, this pair ranks #152,386 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of redoubler vs refouler
Shared letters: eloru. Private to "redoubler": bd. Private to "refouler": f.
"redoubler" · 9 letters · shape CVCVVCCVC · "refouler" · 8 letters · shape CVCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "redoubler" and "refouler" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "redoubler" or "refouler"?
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 "redoubler" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "refouler" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #152,386 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "redoubler" and "refouler" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "refoulée vs refouler". 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 #152,386 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.