réduisvsrefusWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#44,708
“réduis” frequency rank
#3,164
“refus” frequency rank
47872
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature réduis refus
Definition Première personne du singulier de l’indicatif présent de réduire. Action de ne pas accorder ce qui est demandé.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set réduis and refus apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
réduis
5 ch
refus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: réduis is \ʁe.dɥi\ while refus is \ʁə.fy\. 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 (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 47872, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

réduis is recorded at frequency rank #44,708, classified as averb, pronounced \ʁe.dɥi\. refus is at rank #3,164, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ʁə.fy\.

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 47872, this pair ranks #183,474 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of réduis vs refus

Shared letters: rsu. Private to "réduis": dié. Private to "refus": ef.

"réduis" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC  ·  "refus" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • refuserfus · reffus · refsu · refuss · reufs · rfeus · rrefus

Frequency comparison

réduis#44,708
refus#3,164

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "réduis" and "refus" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "réduis" is a verb and "refus" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "réduis" or "refus"?
"refus" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,164 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.

Remembering réduis vs refus

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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