relèvevsremèdeWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#2,795
“relève” frequency rank
#7,232
“remède” frequency rank
10027
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature relève remède
Definition Remplacement d’une troupe de soldats, d’une équipe d’ouvriers par une autre troupe, une autre équipe équivalente. Substance qui sert à guérir un mal ou une maladie ; médicament.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set relève and remède apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
relève
6 ch
remède

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. relève (\ʁə.lɛv\) and remède (\ʁə.mɛd\) 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 10027, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

relève is recorded at frequency rank #2,795, classified as anoun, pronounced \ʁə.lɛv\. remède is at rank #7,232, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ʁə.mɛd\.

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 10027, this pair ranks #414,488 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of relève vs remède

Shared letters: erè. Private to "relève": lv. Private to "remède": dm.

"relève" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV  ·  "remède" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV

Frequency comparison

relève#2,795
remède#7,232

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "relève" and "remède" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\ʁə.lɛv\ versus \ʁə.mɛd\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "relève" or "remède"?
"relève" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,795 in our French list, against #7,232 for "remède". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering relève vs remède

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 “relève” 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