réduirevsréduisezTell them apart

Which to use

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

#1,754
“réduire” frequency rank
#46,424
“réduisez” frequency rank
48178
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature réduire réduisez
Definition Restreindre, diminuer, ou faire diminuer. Deuxième personne du pluriel de l’indicatif présent de réduire.

Where the eye mixes réduire and réduisez

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. réduire runs 7 letters (CVCVVCV) against réduisez's 8 (CVCVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
réduire
8 ch
réduisez

Visual trap between réduire and réduisez

A purely visual mix-up. réduire (\ʁe.dɥiʁ\) and réduisez (\ʁe.dɥi.ze\) 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 48178, 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\. réduisez is at rank #46,424, tagged as averb, pronounced \ʁe.dɥi.ze\.

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 48178, this pair ranks #180,996 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of réduire vs réduisez

Shared letters: deirué. Private to "réduire": -. Private to "réduisez": sz.

"réduire" · 7 letters · shape CVCVVCV  ·  "réduisez" · 8 letters · shape CVCVVCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "réduire" and "réduisez" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\ʁe.dɥiʁ\ versus \ʁe.dɥi.ze\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "réduire" vs "réduisez" - which ranks higher?
"réduire" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,754 in our French list, against #46,424 for "réduisez". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

What to do next

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 "réduisez" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #180,996 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "réduire" and "réduisez" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "réduis vs réduisez". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #180,996 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