Which to use
“réponse” is a noun and “reposer” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #698
- “réponse” frequency rank
- #5,393
- “reposer” frequency rank
- 6091
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | réponse | reposer |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Parole dite, ou acte effectué, en réaction à une question posée, une demande, ou à une déclaration, ou encore à un évènement. | Poser de nouveau ; poser une chose à l’endroit où on l’avait prise. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set réponse and reposer 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: réponse is \ʁe.pɔ̃s\ while reposer is \ʁə.po.ze\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 4 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 6091, 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\. reposer is at rank #5,393, tagged as averb, 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 6091, this pair ranks #427,202 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of réponse vs reposer
Shared letters: eoprs. Private to "réponse": né. Private to "reposer": -.
"réponse" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV · "reposer" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- reposer ← erposer · reopser · repoesr · reposerr · reposre · reposser · repposer · repsoer
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "réponse" and "reposer" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "réponse" or "reposer"?
Remembering réponse vs reposer
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “réponse”; for a verb, it's “reposer”.
- 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