référervsreferméeWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#14,144
“référer” frequency rank
#44,139
“refermée” frequency rank
58283
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature référer refermée
Definition Rapporter une chose à une autre. Participe passé féminin singulier de refermer.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set référer and refermée apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
référer
8 ch
refermée

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. référer (\ʁe.fe.ʁe\) and refermée (\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 differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 58283, 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\. refermée is at rank #44,139, 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 58283, this pair ranks #109,951 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of référer vs refermée

Shared letters: efré. Private to "référer": -. Private to "refermée": m.

"référer" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC  ·  "refermée" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVV

Frequency comparison

référer#14,144
refermée#44,139

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "référer" and "refermée" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\ʁe.fe.ʁe\ versus \ʁə.fɛʁ.me\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "référer" or "refermée"?
"référer" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #14,144 in our French list, against #44,139 for "refermée". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering référer vs refermée

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 “référer” 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