référévsremèdeWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#22,408
“référé” frequency rank
#7,232
“remède” frequency rank
29640
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature référé remède
Definition Recours au juge qui, dans les cas d’urgence, prend une décision provisoire. Substance qui sert à guérir un mal ou une maladie ; médicament.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set référé and remède apart are highlighted. They share 1 letter in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
référé
6 ch
remède

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. référé (\ʁe.fe.ʁe\) and remède (\ʁə.mɛd\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 5 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 29640, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

référé is recorded at frequency rank #22,408, classified as anoun, pronounced \ʁe.fe.ʁe\. remède is at rank #7,232, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ʁə.mɛd\.

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 29640, this pair ranks #315,413 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of référé vs remède

Shared letters: r. Private to "référé": . Private to "remède": demè.

"référé" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV  ·  "remède" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV

Frequency comparison

référé#22,408
remède#7,232

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "référé" and "remède" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\ʁe.fe.ʁe\ versus \ʁə.mɛd\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "référé" or "remède"?
"remède" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,232 in our French list, against #22,408 for "référé". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering référé vs remède

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “référé” 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