Which to use
“référer” and “refermé” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #14,144
- “référer” frequency rank
- #32,150
- “refermé” frequency rank
- 46294
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | référer | refermé |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Rapporter une chose à une autre. | Participe passé masculin singulier de refermer. |
Where the eye mixes référer and refermé
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: référer vs refermé
A purely visual mix-up. référer (\ʁe.fe.ʁe\) and refermé (\ʁə.fɛʁ.me\) 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 46294, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
référer is recorded at frequency rank #14,144, classified as averb, pronounced \ʁe.fe.ʁe\. refermé is at rank #32,150, tagged as averb, pronounced \ʁə.fɛʁ.me\.
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 46294, this pair ranks #196,080 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of référer vs refermé
Shared letters: efré. Private to "référer": -. Private to "refermé": m.
"référer" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC · "refermé" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "référer" for "refermé" ever safe?
Frequency check: "référer" vs "refermé" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "référer" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "refermé" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #196,080 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "référer" and "refermé" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "refermé vs renfermer". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #196,080 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.