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 eye mixes référer and refermée
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. référer runs 7 letters (CVCVCVC) against refermée's 8 (CVCVCCVV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: référer vs refermée
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
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "référer" for "refermée" ever safe?
Frequency check: "référer" vs "refermée" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "référer" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "refermée" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #109,951 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "référer" and "refermée" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "refermée vs réformées". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #109,951 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.