Which to use
“répétons” and “retenons” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #47,022
- “répétons” frequency rank
- #49,327
- “retenons” frequency rank
- 96349
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | répétons | retenons |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Première personne du pluriel du présent de l’indicatif de répéter. | Première personne du pluriel de l’indicatif présent de retenir. |
Where the eye mixes répétons and retenons
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. répétons and retenons follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVCVCC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between répétons and retenons
A purely visual mix-up. répétons (\ʁe.pe.tɔ̃\) and retenons (\ʁə.tə.nɔ̃\) 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 4 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 96349, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
répétons is recorded at frequency rank #47,022, classified as averb, pronounced \ʁe.pe.tɔ̃\. retenons is at rank #49,327, tagged as averb, pronounced \ʁə.tə.nɔ̃\.
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 96349, this pair ranks #707 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of répétons vs retenons
Shared letters: norst. Private to "répétons": pé. Private to "retenons": e.
"répétons" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVCC · "retenons" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- retenons ← ertenons · reetnons · retennons · retennos · retenonns · retenonss · retenosn · reteonns
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "répétons" for "retenons" ever safe?
Frequency check: "répétons" vs "retenons" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "répétons" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "retenons" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #707 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "répétons" and "retenons" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "remettons vs répétons". 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 #707 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.