refugevsréguleWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#5,392
“refuge” frequency rank
#34,734
“régule” frequency rank
40126
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature refuge régule
Definition Asile ; retraite ; lieu où l’on cherche un abri. Nom donné à différents alliages d’antimoine, d’étain ou de plomb.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set refuge and régule apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
refuge
6 ch
régule

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. refuge (\ʁə.fyʒ\) and régule (\ʁe.ɡyl\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40126, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

refuge is recorded at frequency rank #5,392, classified as anoun, pronounced \ʁə.fyʒ\. régule is at rank #34,734, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ʁe.ɡyl\.

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 40126, this pair ranks #242,839 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of refuge vs régule

Shared letters: egru. Private to "refuge": f. Private to "régule": .

"refuge" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV  ·  "régule" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • refugeerfuge · reffuge · refgue · refueg · refugge · reufge · rfeuge · rrefuge

Frequency comparison

refuge#5,392
régule#34,734

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "refuge" and "régule" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\ʁə.fyʒ\ versus \ʁe.ɡyl\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "refuge" or "régule"?
"refuge" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,392 in our French list, against #34,734 for "régule". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering refuge vs régule

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 “refuge” 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