référévsrépèteWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#22,408
“référé” frequency rank
#3,959
“répète” frequency rank
26367
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature référé répète
Definition Recours au juge qui, dans les cas d’urgence, prend une décision provisoire. (Apocope) Répétition.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set référé and répète apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
référé
6 ch
répète

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. référé (\ʁe.fe.ʁe\) and répète (\ʁe.pɛt\) 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 4 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 26367, 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\. répète is at rank #3,959, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ʁe.pɛt\.

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 26367, this pair ranks #335,445 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of référé vs répète

Shared letters: . Private to "référé": f. Private to "répète": eptè.

"référé" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV  ·  "répète" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV

Frequency comparison

référé#22,408
répète#3,959

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "référé" and "répète" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\ʁe.fe.ʁe\ versus \ʁe.pɛt\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "référé" or "répète"?
"répète" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,959 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 répète

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