Which to use
“refonder” and “reformer” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #44,682
- “refonder” frequency rank
- #32,151
- “reformer” frequency rank
- 76833
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | refonder | reformer |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Donner de nouvelles fondations à une entreprise, un pays, une ville... | Former de nouveau. |
Where the eye mixes refonder and reformer
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: refonder vs reformer
A purely visual mix-up. refonder (\ʁə.fɔ̃.de\) and reformer (\ʁə.fɔʁ.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 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 76833, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
refonder is recorded at frequency rank #44,682, classified as averb, pronounced \ʁə.fɔ̃.de\. reformer is at rank #32,151, tagged as averb, pronounced \ʁə.fɔʁ.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 76833, this pair ranks #30,058 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of refonder vs reformer
Shared letters: efor. Private to "refonder": dn. Private to "reformer": m.
"refonder" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC · "reformer" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "refonder" for "reformer" ever safe?
Which is more common, "refonder" or "reformer"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "refonder" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "reformer" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #30,058 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "refonder" and "reformer" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "réformées vs reformer". 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 #30,058 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.