refoulésvsroulésWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#36,125
“refoulés” frequency rank
#30,786
“roulés” frequency rank
66911
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature refoulés roulés
Definition Masculin pluriel de refoulé. Masculin pluriel de roulé.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set refoulés and roulés apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
refoulés
6 ch
roulés

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. refoulés (\ʁə.fu.le\) and roulés (\ʁu.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 66911, 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\. roulés is at rank #30,786, tagged as anadj, pronounced \ʁu.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 66911, this pair ranks #65,747 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of refoulés vs roulés

Shared letters: lorsué. Private to "refoulés": ef. Private to "roulés": -.

"refoulés" · 8 letters · shape CVCVVCVC  ·  "roulés" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC

Frequency comparison

refoulés#36,125
roulés#30,786

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "refoulés" and "roulés" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\ʁə.fu.le\ versus \ʁu.le\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "refoulés" or "roulés"?
"roulés" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #30,786 in our French list, against #36,125 for "refoulés". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering refoulés vs roulés

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 “refoulés” 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