Which to use
“réfugié” is a noun and “réfugiés” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #10,939
- “réfugié” frequency rank
- #3,421
- “réfugiés” frequency rank
- 14360
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | réfugié | réfugiés |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Personne qui a quitté son pays ou sa région pour fuir un danger. | Masculin pluriel de réfugié. |
Same sound, different letters: réfugié vs réfugiés
Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 7 letters. réfugié runs 7 letters (CVCVCVV) against réfugiés's 8 (CVCVCVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Homophone desk: réfugié vs réfugiés
Say them out loud and nothing separates them: réfugié and réfugiés 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 1 extra letter(s) - “réfugié” sits inside “réfugiés”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14360, 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\. réfugiés is at rank #3,421, 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 14360, this pair ranks #397,024 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of réfugié vs réfugiés
Shared letters: fgirué. Private to "réfugié": -. Private to "réfugiés": s.
"réfugié" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVV · "réfugiés" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "réfugié" and "réfugiés" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary French text, does "réfugié" or "réfugiés" show up more?
After this comparison
Sound matches; spelling doesn't. Use the exits below to lock the right form or check a cousin pair.
- Full dictionary entry for "réfugié" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "réfugiés" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #397,024 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "réfugié" and "réfugiés" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "réfugié vs réfugiées". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #397,024 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.