régalervsrégateTell them apart

Quick tell: régaler is a verb, régate is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“régaler” is a verb and “régate” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#24,017
“régaler” frequency rank
#43,648
“régate” frequency rank
67665
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature régaler régate
Definition Donner un régal, offrir un plaisir de table. Course d’embarcations, de yachts qui se disputent le prix de la vitesse.

Where the eye mixes régaler and régate

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. régaler runs 7 letters (CVCVCVC) against régate's 6 (CVCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
régaler
6 ch
régate

Visual trap between régaler and régate

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: régaler is \ʁe.ɡa.le\ while régate is \ʁe.ɡat\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 67665, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

régaler is recorded at frequency rank #24,017, classified as averb, pronounced \ʁe.ɡa.le\. régate is at rank #43,648, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ʁe.ɡat\.

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 67665, this pair ranks #62,406 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of régaler vs régate

Shared letters: aegré. Private to "régaler": l. Private to "régate": t.

"régaler" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC  ·  "régate" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "régaler" for "régate" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "régaler" is a verb and "régate" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "régaler" or "régate"?
"régaler" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #24,017 in our French list, against #43,648 for "régate". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "régaler" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "régate" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #62,406 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "régaler" and "régate" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "régate vs Renata". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #62,406 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