Which to use
“reposé” is a verb and “repoussé” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #25,794
- “reposé” frequency rank
- #11,289
- “repoussé” frequency rank
- 37083
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | reposé | repoussé |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Participe passé masculin singulier du verbe reposer. | Qualifie la matière en plaque (cuir ou métal), que l’on a décoré en le travaillant à l’envers, au marteau ou avec des instruments spéciaux. |
Where the eye mixes reposé and repoussé
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. reposé runs 6 letters (CVCVCV) against repoussé's 8 (CVCVVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: reposé vs repoussé
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: reposé is \ʁə.po.ze\ while repoussé is \ʁə.pu.se\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 37083, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
reposé is recorded at frequency rank #25,794, classified as averb, pronounced \ʁə.po.ze\. repoussé is at rank #11,289, tagged as anadj, pronounced \ʁə.pu.se\.
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 37083, this pair ranks #265,015 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of reposé vs repoussé
Shared letters: eoprsé. Private to "reposé": -. Private to "repoussé": u.
"reposé" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV · "repoussé" · 8 letters · shape CVCVVCCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "reposé" for "repoussé" ever safe?
Frequency check: "reposé" vs "repoussé" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "reposé" and "repoussé" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "reposé" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "repoussé" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #265,015 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "reposé" and "repoussé" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "rejoué vs reposé". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #265,015 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.