Which to use
“reformuler” and “refouler” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #42,002
- “reformuler” frequency rank
- #32,152
- “refouler” frequency rank
- 74154
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | reformuler | refouler |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Réitérer un dire, une explication, une proposition, etc. sous une autre forme. | Fouler (presser) de nouveau. |
Where the eye mixes reformuler and refouler
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. reformuler runs 10 letters (CVCVCCVCVC) against refouler's 8 (CVCVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: reformuler vs refouler
A purely visual mix-up. reformuler (\ʁə.fɔʁ.my.le\) and refouler (\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 differ by 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 74154, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
reformuler is recorded at frequency rank #42,002, classified as averb, pronounced \ʁə.fɔʁ.my.le\. refouler is at rank #32,152, tagged as averb, 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 74154, this pair ranks #38,073 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of reformuler vs refouler
Shared letters: efloru. Private to "reformuler": m. Private to "refouler": -.
"reformuler" · 10 letters · shape CVCVCCVCVC · "refouler" · 8 letters · shape CVCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- reformuler ← erformuler · refformuler · refomruler · reformluer · reformmuler · reformuelr · reformulerr · reformuller
- refouler ← erfouler · reffouler · refoluer · refouelr · refoulerr · refouller · refoulre · refuoler
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "reformuler" for "refouler" ever safe?
Frequency check: "reformuler" vs "refouler" - which ranks higher?
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 "reformuler" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "refouler" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #38,073 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "reformuler" and "refouler" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "refoulée vs refouler". 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 #38,073 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.