Which to use
“réfugiées” and “refusées” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #47,584
- “réfugiées” frequency rank
- #35,240
- “refusées” frequency rank
- 82824
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | réfugiées | refusées |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Féminin pluriel de réfugié. | Féminin pluriel de refusé. |
Where the eye mixes réfugiées and refusées
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. réfugiées runs 9 letters (CVCVCVVVC) against refusées's 8 (CVCVCVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses réfugiées with refusées
A purely visual mix-up. réfugiées (\ʁe.fy.ʒje\) and refusées (\ʁə.fy.ze\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 82824, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
réfugiées is recorded at frequency rank #47,584, classified as anadj, pronounced \ʁe.fy.ʒje\. refusées is at rank #35,240, tagged as anadj, pronounced \ʁə.fy.ze\.
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 82824, this pair ranks #15,950 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of réfugiées vs refusées
Shared letters: efrsué. Private to "réfugiées": gi. Private to "refusées": -.
"réfugiées" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCVVVC · "refusées" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "réfugiées" and "refusées" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "réfugiées" or "refusées"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "réfugiées" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "refusées" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #15,950 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "réfugiées" and "refusées" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "réfugiées vs réfugient". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #15,950 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.