Which to use
“réfugiés” and “refusées” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #3,421
- “réfugiés” frequency rank
- #35,240
- “refusées” frequency rank
- 38661
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | réfugiés | refusées |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Masculin pluriel de réfugié. | Féminin pluriel de refusé. |
Where the eye mixes réfugiés and refusées
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. réfugiés and refusées follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVCVVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: réfugiés vs refusées
A purely visual mix-up. réfugiés (\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 share most of their letters but differ in 4 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38661, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
réfugiés is recorded at frequency rank #3,421, 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 38661, this pair ranks #253,694 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of réfugiés vs refusées
Shared letters: frsué. Private to "réfugiés": gi. Private to "refusées": e.
"réfugiés" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVVC · "refusées" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "réfugiés" and "refusées" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "réfugiés" vs "refusées" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "réfugiés" 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 #253,694 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "réfugiés" and "refusées" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "réfugiées vs refusées". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #253,694 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.