réduirevsréduiseConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#1,754
“réduire” frequency rank
#40,980
“réduise” frequency rank
42734
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature réduire réduise
Definition Restreindre, diminuer, ou faire diminuer. Première personne du singulier du présent du subjonctif de réduire.

Where the eye mixes réduire and réduise

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. réduire and réduise follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVVCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

7 ch
réduire
7 ch
réduise

Visual trap between réduire and réduise

A purely visual mix-up. réduire (\ʁe.dɥiʁ\) and réduise (\ʁe.dɥiz\) 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 a single letter - r in “réduire” becomes s in “réduise”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 42734, 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\. réduise is at rank #40,980, tagged as averb, pronounced \ʁe.dɥiz\.

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 42734, this pair ranks #223,334 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of réduire vs réduise

Shared letters: deirué. Private to "réduire": -. Private to "réduise": s.

"réduire" · 7 letters · shape CVCVVCV  ·  "réduise" · 7 letters · shape CVCVVCV

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "réduire" for "réduise" ever safe?
No. They are said differently (\ʁe.dɥiʁ\ versus \ʁe.dɥiz\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "réduire" vs "réduise" - which ranks higher?
"réduire" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,754 in our French list, against #40,980 for "réduise". 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 "réduise" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #223,334 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "réduire" and "réduise" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "réduise vs réduisez". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #223,334 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