réforméevsrefouléeWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#26,860
“réformée” frequency rank
#49,899
“refoulée” frequency rank
76759
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature réformée refoulée
Definition Féminin singulier de réformé. Féminin singulier de refoulé.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set réformée and refoulée apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
réformée
8 ch
refoulée

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. réformée (\ʁe.fɔʁ.me\) and refoulée (\ʁə.fu.le\) 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 76759, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

réformée is recorded at frequency rank #26,860, classified as anadj, pronounced \ʁe.fɔʁ.me\. refoulée is at rank #49,899, tagged as anadj, pronounced \ʁə.fu.le\.

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 76759, this pair ranks #30,239 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of réformée vs refoulée

Shared letters: eforé. Private to "réformée": m. Private to "refoulée": lu.

"réformée" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVV  ·  "refoulée" · 8 letters · shape CVCVVCVV

Frequency comparison

réformée#26,860
refoulée#49,899

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "réformée" and "refoulée" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\ʁe.fɔʁ.me\ versus \ʁə.fu.le\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "réformée" or "refoulée"?
"réformée" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #26,860 in our French list, against #49,899 for "refoulée". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering réformée vs refoulée

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 “réformée” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list