redoutevsréduiteWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: redoute is a noun, réduite is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

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

#12,462
“redoute” frequency rank
#4,708
“réduite” frequency rank
17170
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature redoute réduite
Definition Pièce de fortification détachée ; petit fort fermé, construit en terre ou en maçonnerie, et propre à recevoir de l’artillerie. Féminin singulier de réduit.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set redoute and réduite apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
redoute
7 ch
réduite

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: redoute is \ʁə.dut\ while réduite is \ʁe.dɥit\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17170, 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\. réduite is at rank #4,708, tagged as anadj, pronounced \ʁe.dɥit\.

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 17170, this pair ranks #384,457 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of redoute vs réduite

Shared letters: dertu. Private to "redoute": o. Private to "réduite": .

"redoute" · 7 letters · shape CVCVVCV  ·  "réduite" · 7 letters · shape CVCVVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

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

Frequency comparison

redoute#12,462
réduite#4,708

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "redoute" and "réduite" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "redoute" is a noun and "réduite" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "redoute" or "réduite"?
"réduite" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,708 in our French list, against #12,462 for "redoute". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering redoute vs réduite

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “redoute”; for an adjective, it's “réduite”.
  • 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