repérervsrévélerWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#8,455
“repérer” frequency rank
#6,027
“révéler” frequency rank
14482
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature repérer révéler
Definition Marquer, indiquer des repères. Découvrir, déclarer, faire savoir une chose qui était inconnue et secrète.

Where the spellings diverge

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

7 ch
repérer
7 ch
révéler

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. repérer (\ʁə.pe.ʁe\) and révéler (\ʁe.ve.le\) 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 14482, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

repérer is recorded at frequency rank #8,455, classified as averb, pronounced \ʁə.pe.ʁe\. révéler is at rank #6,027, tagged as averb, pronounced \ʁe.ve.le\.

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 14482, this pair ranks #396,447 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of repérer vs révéler

Shared letters: eré. Private to "repérer": p. Private to "révéler": lv.

"repérer" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC  ·  "révéler" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC

Frequency comparison

repérer#8,455
révéler#6,027

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "repérer" and "révéler" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\ʁə.pe.ʁe\ versus \ʁe.ve.le\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "repérer" or "révéler"?
"révéler" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,027 in our French list, against #8,455 for "repérer". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering repérer vs révéler

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 “repérer” 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