regagnervsrésignerConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#13,462
“regagner” frequency rank
#29,134
“résigner” frequency rank
42596
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature regagner résigner
Definition Gagner ce qu’on avait perdu. Se démettre, remettre. Il s’entendait ordinairement d’un bénéfice.

Where the eye mixes regagner and résigner

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. regagner and résigner follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

8 ch
regagner
8 ch
résigner

Why the eye confuses regagner with résigner

A purely visual mix-up. regagner (\ʁə.ɡa.ɲe\) and résigner (\ʁe.zi.ɲe\) 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 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 42596, 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\. résigner is at rank #29,134, tagged as averb, pronounced \ʁe.zi.ɲe\.

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 42596, this pair ranks #224,415 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of regagner vs résigner

Shared letters: egnr. Private to "regagner": a. Private to "résigner": isé.

"regagner" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC  ·  "résigner" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • regagner ← ergagner · reaggner · regagenr · regaggner · regagnerr · regagnner · regagnre · reganger

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "regagner" and "résigner" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently (\ʁə.ɡa.ɲe\ versus \ʁe.zi.ɲe\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "regagner" or "résigner"?
"regagner" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,462 in our French list, against #29,134 for "résigner". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "regagner" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "résigner" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #224,415 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "regagner" and "résigner" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "résigner vs résines". Nearby pair
  • Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes

Confusion rank #224,415 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list