reelvsréellesWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: reel is a noun, réelles is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“reel” is a noun and “réelles” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#27,593
“reel” frequency rank
#6,752
“réelles” frequency rank
34345
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature reel réelles
Definition Format de vidéo courte sur Instagram. Féminin pluriel de réel.

Where the spellings diverge

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

4 ch
reel
7 ch
réelles

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Say them out loud and nothing separates them: reel and réelles carry the same recorded pronunciation, \ʁe.ɛl\. Grammar is what tells them apart: one is anoun, the other anadjective, so most sentences will only accept one of them. They differ by 3 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 34345, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

reel is recorded at frequency rank #27,593, classified as anoun, pronounced \ʁe.ɛl\. réelles is at rank #6,752, tagged as anadj, pronounced \ʁe.ɛl\.

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 34345, this pair ranks #284,482 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of reel vs réelles

Shared letters: elr. Private to "reel": -. Private to "réelles": .

"reel" · 4 letters · shape CVVC  ·  "réelles" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • reelerel · reell · rele · rreel

Frequency comparison

reel#27,593
réelles#6,752

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "reel" and "réelles" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "reel" is a noun and "réelles" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "reel" or "réelles"?
"réelles" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,752 in our French list, against #27,593 for "reel". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering reel vs réelles

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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