réponsevsreposéeWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#698
“réponse” frequency rank
#38,012
“reposée” frequency rank
38710
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature réponse reposée
Definition Parole dite, ou acte effectué, en réaction à une question posée, une demande, ou à une déclaration, ou encore à un évènement. Lieu où une bête sauvage se repose.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set réponse and reposée apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
réponse
7 ch
reposée

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. réponse (\ʁe.pɔ̃s\) and reposée (\ʁə.po.ze\) 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 38710, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

réponse is recorded at frequency rank #698, classified as anoun, pronounced \ʁe.pɔ̃s\. reposée is at rank #38,012, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ʁə.po.ze\.

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 38710, this pair ranks #253,359 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of réponse vs reposée

Shared letters: eoprsé. Private to "réponse": n. Private to "reposée": -.

"réponse" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV  ·  "reposée" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVV

Frequency comparison

réponse#698
reposée#38,012

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "réponse" and "reposée" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\ʁe.pɔ̃s\ versus \ʁə.po.ze\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "réponse" or "reposée"?
"réponse" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #698 in our French list, against #38,012 for "reposée". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering réponse vs reposée

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 “réponse” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list