Which to use
“réfugier” is a verb and “réfugiés” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #13,685
- “réfugier” frequency rank
- #3,421
- “réfugiés” frequency rank
- 17106
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | réfugier | réfugiés |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Se retirer en quelque lieu ou auprès de quelqu’un pour être en sûreté, pour être à l’abri. | Masculin pluriel de réfugié. |
Same sound, different letters: réfugier vs réfugiés
Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 6 letters. réfugier and réfugiés follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVCVVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Homophone desk: réfugier vs réfugiés
Say them out loud and nothing separates them: réfugier and réfugiés carry the same recorded pronunciation, \ʁe.fy.ʒje\. Grammar is what tells them apart: one is averb, the other anadjective, so most sentences will only accept one of them. They share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17106, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
réfugier is recorded at frequency rank #13,685, classified as averb, 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 17106, this pair ranks #384,767 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of réfugier vs réfugiés
Shared letters: fgirué. Private to "réfugier": e. Private to "réfugiés": s.
"réfugier" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVVC · "réfugiés" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "réfugier" and "réfugiés" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary French text, does "réfugier" or "réfugiés" show up more?
After this comparison
"réfugier" and "réfugiés" share a sound, keep the gloss open, then jump to the headword or a nearby trap.
- Full dictionary entry for "réfugier" 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 #384,767 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "réfugier" and "réfugiés" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "réfugiées vs réfugier". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #384,767 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.