refroidirvsrefroidisWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: refroidir is a verb, refroidis is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“refroidir” is a verb and “refroidis” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#15,739
“refroidir” frequency rank
#40,957
“refroidis” frequency rank
56696
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature refroidir refroidis
Definition Rendre froid. Masculin pluriel de refroidi.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set refroidir and refroidis apart are highlighted. They share 8 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

9 ch
refroidir
9 ch
refroidis

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

refroidir and refroidis form a confusable pair in the French index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by a single letter - r in “refroidir” becomes s in “refroidis” - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 56696, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

refroidir is recorded at frequency rank #15,739, classified as averb, pronounced \ʁə.fʁwa.diʁ\. refroidis is at rank #40,957, tagged as anadj, pronounced \ʁə.fʁwa.di\.

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 56696, this pair ranks #119,479 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Frequency comparison

refroidir#15,739
refroidis#40,957

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "refroidir" and "refroidis" be used interchangeably?
No, "refroidir" and "refroidis" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering refroidir vs refroidis

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “refroidir”; for an adjective, it's “refroidis”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “refroidir” 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