requiemvsrequinWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#29,111
“requiem” frequency rank
#9,907
“requin” frequency rank
39018
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature requiem requin
Definition Prière que l’Église fait pour les morts. Espèce de poisson de mer prédateur de la classe des chondrichthyens (Chondrichthyens), à la silhouette fuselée, hydrodynamique, ayant plusieurs rangées de dents tranchantes à chacune des 2 mâchoires, une nageoire dorsale, deux pectorales, et une nageoire caudale hétérocerque (asymétrique), ayant cinq à sept fentes branchiales sur le côté, et une peau rugueuse (denticules dermiques).

Where the spellings diverge

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

7 ch
requiem
6 ch
requin

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. requiem (\ʁe.kɥi.jɛm\) and requin (\ʁə.kɛ̃\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 39018, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

requiem is recorded at frequency rank #29,111, classified as anoun, pronounced \ʁe.kɥi.jɛm\. requin is at rank #9,907, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ʁə.kɛ̃\.

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 39018, this pair ranks #251,096 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of requiem vs requin

Shared letters: eiqru. Private to "requiem": m. Private to "requin": n.

"requiem" · 7 letters · shape CVCVVVC  ·  "requin" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • requiemerquiem · reqiuem · reqquiem · requeim · requiemm · requime · reuqiem · rqeuiem
  • requinerquin · reqiun · reqquin · requinn · requni · reuqin · rqeuin · rrequin

Frequency comparison

requiem#29,111
requin#9,907

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "requiem" and "requin" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\ʁe.kɥi.jɛm\ versus \ʁə.kɛ̃\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "requiem" or "requin"?
"requin" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,907 in our French list, against #29,111 for "requiem". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering requiem vs requin

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 “requiem” 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