réduirevsréduisWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

“réduire” and “réduis” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#1,754
“réduire” frequency rank
#44,708
“réduis” frequency rank
46462
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature réduire réduis
Definition Restreindre, diminuer, ou faire diminuer. Première personne du singulier de l’indicatif présent de réduire.

Where the eye mixes réduire and réduis

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. réduire runs 7 letters (CVCVVCV) against réduis's 6 (CVCVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
réduire
6 ch
réduis

Why the eye confuses réduire with réduis

A purely visual mix-up. réduire (\ʁe.dɥiʁ\) and réduis (\ʁe.dɥi\) 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 46462, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

réduire is recorded at frequency rank #1,754, classified as averb, pronounced \ʁe.dɥiʁ\. réduis is at rank #44,708, tagged as averb, pronounced \ʁe.dɥi\.

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 46462, this pair ranks #194,749 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of réduire vs réduis

Shared letters: dirué. Private to "réduire": e. Private to "réduis": s.

"réduire" · 7 letters · shape CVCVVCV  ·  "réduis" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "réduire" and "réduis" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\ʁe.dɥiʁ\ versus \ʁe.dɥi\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary French text, does "réduire" or "réduis" show up more?
"réduire" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,754 in our French list, against #44,708 for "réduis". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "réduire" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "réduis" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #194,749 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "réduire" and "réduis" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "réduis vs Reis". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #194,749 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list