redoutevsredoutéeWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: redoute is a noun, redoutée is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“redoute” is a noun and “redoutée” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#12,462
“redoute” frequency rank
#44,138
“redoutée” frequency rank
56600
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature redoute redoutée
Definition Pièce de fortification détachée ; petit fort fermé, construit en terre ou en maçonnerie, et propre à recevoir de l’artillerie. Participe passé féminin singulier de redouter.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set redoute and redoutée apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
redoute
8 ch
redoutée

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: redoute is \ʁə.dut\ while redoutée is \ʁə.du.te\. 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 (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 56600, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

redoute is recorded at frequency rank #12,462, classified as anoun, pronounced \ʁə.dut\. redoutée is at rank #44,138, tagged as averb, pronounced \ʁə.du.te\.

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 56600, this pair ranks #120,071 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of redoute vs redoutée

Shared letters: deortu. Private to "redoute": -. Private to "redoutée": é.

"redoute" · 7 letters · shape CVCVVCV  ·  "redoutée" · 8 letters · shape CVCVVCVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • redouteerdoute · rdeoute · reddoute · redotue · redouet · redoutte · reduote · reodute

Frequency comparison

redoute#12,462
redoutée#44,138

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "redoute" and "redoutée" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "redoute" is a noun and "redoutée" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "redoute" or "redoutée"?
"redoute" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,462 in our French list, against #44,138 for "redoutée". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering redoute vs redoutée

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “redoute”; for a verb, it's “redoutée”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “redoute” 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