Which to use
“référer” and “refuser” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #14,144
- “référer” frequency rank
- #3,562
- “refuser” frequency rank
- 17706
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | référer | refuser |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Rapporter une chose à une autre. | Rejeter une demande, ne pas accorder ce qui est demandé ; ne pas vouloir faire ce qui est exigé, prescrit, ordonné. |
Where the eye mixes référer and refuser
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: référer vs refuser
A purely visual mix-up. référer (\ʁe.fe.ʁe\) and refuser (\ʁə.fy.ze\) 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 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17706, 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\. refuser is at rank #3,562, tagged as averb, pronounced \ʁə.fy.ze\.
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 17706, this pair ranks #381,862 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of référer vs refuser
Shared letters: efr. Private to "référer": é. Private to "refuser": su.
"référer" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC · "refuser" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- refuser ← erfuser · reffuser · refsuer · refuesr · refuserr · refusre · refusser · reufser
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "référer" and "refuser" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "référer" vs "refuser" - 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 "refuser" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #381,862 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "référer" and "refuser" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "référer vs renfermer". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #381,862 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.