Which to use
“refrain” and “regain” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #13,461
- “refrain” frequency rank
- #18,575
- “regain” frequency rank
- 32036
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | refrain | regain |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Un ou plusieurs mots qui se répètent à la fin de chaque couplet d’une chanson, d’une ballade, d’un rondeau, etc. | Herbe qui repousse dans les prés après qu’ils ont été fauchés. |
Where the eye mixes refrain and regain
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between refrain and regain
A purely visual mix-up. refrain (\ʁə.fʁɛ̃\) and regain (\ʁə.ɡɛ̃\) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 32036, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
refrain is recorded at frequency rank #13,461, classified as anoun, pronounced \ʁə.fʁɛ̃\. regain is at rank #18,575, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ʁə.ɡɛ̃\.
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 32036, this pair ranks #299,964 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of refrain vs regain
Shared letters: aeinr. Private to "refrain": f. Private to "regain": g.
"refrain" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVVC · "regain" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "refrain" and "regain" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "refrain" or "regain"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "refrain" and "regain" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "refrain" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "regain" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #299,964 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "refrain" and "regain" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "regain vs Reggio". 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 #299,964 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.