Which to use
“réfugiée” is a noun and “réfugiés” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #31,709
- “réfugiée” frequency rank
- #3,421
- “réfugiés” frequency rank
- 35130
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | réfugiée | réfugiés |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Femme réfugiée. | Masculin pluriel de réfugié. |
Same sound, different letters: réfugiée vs réfugiés
Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 7 letters. réfugiée (CVCVCVVV) and réfugiés (CVCVCVVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Same sound, different spelling - réfugiée / réfugiés
Say them out loud and nothing separates them: réfugiée 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 a single letter - e in “réfugiée” becomes s in “réfugiés”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 35130, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
réfugiée is recorded at frequency rank #31,709, 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 35130, this pair ranks #278,962 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of réfugiée vs réfugiés
Shared letters: fgirué. Private to "réfugiée": e. Private to "réfugiés": s.
"réfugiée" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVVV · "réfugiés" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "réfugiée" and "réfugiés" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "réfugiée" vs "réfugiés" - which ranks higher?
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 "réfugiée" 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 #278,962 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "réfugiée" and "réfugiés" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "réfugiée vs réfugiées". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #278,962 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.