Which to use
“répond” is a verb and “réponse” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,755
- “répond” frequency rank
- #698
- “réponse” frequency rank
- 2453
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | répond | réponse |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Troisième personne du singulier de l’indicatif présent de répondre. | Parole dite, ou acte effectué, en réaction à une question posée, une demande, ou à une déclaration, ou encore à un évènement. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set répond and réponse apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: répond is \ʁe.pɔ̃\ while réponse is \ʁe.pɔ̃s\. 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 2453, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
répond is recorded at frequency rank #1,755, classified as averb, pronounced \ʁe.pɔ̃\. réponse is at rank #698, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ʁe.pɔ̃s\.
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 2453, this pair ranks #436,116 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of répond vs réponse
Shared letters: nopré. Private to "répond": d. Private to "réponse": es.
"répond" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC · "réponse" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "répond" and "réponse" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "répond" or "réponse"?
Remembering répond vs réponse
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “répond”; for a noun, it's “réponse”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “répond” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable