regagnervsregarderWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“regagner” and “regarder” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#13,462
“regagner” frequency rank
#776
“regarder” frequency rank
14238
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature regagner regarder
Definition Gagner ce qu’on avait perdu. Porter ses regards sur quelque chose ou quelqu’un.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set regagner and regarder apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
regagner
8 ch
regarder

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. regagner (\ʁə.ɡa.ɲe\) and regarder (\ʁə.ɡaʁ.de\) 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 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14238, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

regagner is recorded at frequency rank #13,462, classified as averb, pronounced \ʁə.ɡa.ɲe\. regarder is at rank #776, tagged as averb, pronounced \ʁə.ɡaʁ.de\.

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 14238, this pair ranks #397,550 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of regagner vs regarder

Shared letters: aegr. Private to "regagner": n. Private to "regarder": d.

"regagner" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC  ·  "regarder" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • regagnerergagner · reaggner · regagenr · regaggner · regagnerr · regagnner · regagnre · reganger
  • regarderergarder · reagrder · regadrer · regardder · regarderr · regardre · regaredr · regarrder

Frequency comparison

regagner#13,462
regarder#776

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "regagner" and "regarder" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\ʁə.ɡa.ɲe\ versus \ʁə.ɡaʁ.de\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "regagner" or "regarder"?
"regarder" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #776 in our French list, against #13,462 for "regagner". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering regagner vs regarder

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “regagner” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list