Which to use
“repasser” and “repenser” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #10,061
- “repasser” frequency rank
- #13,048
- “repenser” frequency rank
- 23109
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | repasser | repenser |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Passer de nouveau. | Penser de nouveau, réfléchir plus profondément sur une chose. |
Where the eye mixes repasser and repenser
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. repasser and repenser follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: repasser vs repenser
A purely visual mix-up. repasser (\ʁə.pɑ.se\) and repenser (\ʁə.pɑ̃.se\) 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 23109, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
repasser is recorded at frequency rank #10,061, classified as averb, pronounced \ʁə.pɑ.se\. repenser is at rank #13,048, tagged as averb, pronounced \ʁə.pɑ̃.se\.
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 23109, this pair ranks #354,304 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of repasser vs repenser
Shared letters: eprs. Private to "repasser": a. Private to "repenser": n.
"repasser" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC · "repenser" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "repasser" and "repenser" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "repasser" or "repenser"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "repasser" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "repenser" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #354,304 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "repasser" and "repenser" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "repasser vs ressasser". 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 #354,304 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.