Which to use
“réduisait” and “refusait” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #39,027
- “réduisait” frequency rank
- #12,851
- “refusait” frequency rank
- 51878
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | réduisait | refusait |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Troisième personne du singulier de l’imparfait de réduire. | Troisième personne du singulier de l’imparfait de l’indicatif de refuser. |
Where the eye mixes réduisait and refusait
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. réduisait runs 9 letters (CVCVVCVVC) against refusait's 8 (CVCVCVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between réduisait and refusait
A purely visual mix-up. réduisait (\ʁe.dɥi.zɛ\) and refusait (\ʁə.fy.zɛ\) 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 51878, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
réduisait is recorded at frequency rank #39,027, classified as averb, pronounced \ʁe.dɥi.zɛ\. refusait is at rank #12,851, tagged as averb, pronounced \ʁə.fy.zɛ\.
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 51878, this pair ranks #151,788 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of réduisait vs refusait
Shared letters: airstu. Private to "réduisait": dé. Private to "refusait": ef.
"réduisait" · 9 letters · shape CVCVVCVVC · "refusait" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- refusait ← erfusait · reffusait · refsuait · refuasit · refusaitt · refusati · refusiat · refussait
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "réduisait" and "refusait" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "réduisait" vs "refusait" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "réduisait" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "refusait" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #151,788 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "réduisait" and "refusait" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "réduirait vs réduisait". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #151,788 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.