Which to use
“refoulés” is an adjective and “refuges” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #36,125
- “refoulés” frequency rank
- #20,836
- “refuges” frequency rank
- 56961
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | refoulés | refuges |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Masculin pluriel de refoulé. | Pluriel de refuge. |
Where the eye mixes refoulés and refuges
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. refoulés runs 8 letters (CVCVVCVC) against refuges's 7 (CVCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses refoulés with refuges
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: refoulés is \ʁə.fu.le\ while refuges is \ʁə.fyʒ\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 56961, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
refoulés is recorded at frequency rank #36,125, classified as anadj, pronounced \ʁə.fu.le\. refuges is at rank #20,836, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ʁə.fyʒ\.
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 56961, this pair ranks #117,889 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of refoulés vs refuges
Shared letters: efrsu. Private to "refoulés": loé. Private to "refuges": g.
"refoulés" · 8 letters · shape CVCVVCVC · "refuges" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- refuges ← erfuges · reffuges · refgues · refuegs · refugess · refugges · refugse · reufges
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "refoulés" and "refuges" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "refoulés" vs "refuges" - 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 "refoulés" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "refuges" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #117,889 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "refoulés" and "refuges" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "refoulée vs refoulés". 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 #117,889 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.