Which to use
“réfugié” is a noun and “réfugiées” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #10,939
- “réfugié” frequency rank
- #47,584
- “réfugiées” frequency rank
- 58523
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | réfugié | réfugiées |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Personne qui a quitté son pays ou sa région pour fuir un danger. | Féminin pluriel de réfugié. |
Same sound, different letters: réfugié vs réfugiées
Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 7 letters. réfugié runs 7 letters (CVCVCVV) against réfugiées's 9 (CVCVCVVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Same sound, different spelling - réfugié / réfugiées
Say them out loud and nothing separates them: réfugié and réfugiées carry the same recorded pronunciation, \ʁe.fy.ʒje\. Grammar is what tells them apart: one is anoun, the other anadjective, so most sentences will only accept one of them. They differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “réfugié” sits inside “réfugiées”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 58523, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
réfugié is recorded at frequency rank #10,939, classified as anoun, pronounced \ʁe.fy.ʒje\. réfugiées is at rank #47,584, tagged as anadj, pronounced \ʁe.fy.ʒje\.
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 58523, this pair ranks #108,572 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of réfugié vs réfugiées
Shared letters: fgirué. Private to "réfugié": -. Private to "réfugiées": es.
"réfugié" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVV · "réfugiées" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCVVVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "réfugié" and "réfugiées" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "réfugié" vs "réfugiées" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
You've separated the homophone pair "réfugié" / "réfugiées". Follow the links when you need the full entry or a neighbour that trips the same ear.
- Full dictionary entry for "réfugié" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "réfugiées" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #108,572 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "réfugié" and "réfugiées" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "réfugiées vs réfugient". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #108,572 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.