Which to use
“retour” is a noun and “return” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #403
- “retour” frequency rank
- #23,674
- “return” frequency rank
- 24077
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | retour | return |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tour en sens contraire. | Retourner. |
Where the eye mixes retour and return
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: retour vs return
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: retour is \ʁə.tuʁ\ while return is \ɹɪ.ˈtɝn\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 3 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 24077, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
retour is recorded at frequency rank #403, classified as anoun, pronounced \ʁə.tuʁ\. return is at rank #23,674, tagged as averb, pronounced \ɹɪ.ˈtɝn\.
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 24077, this pair ranks #348,778 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of retour vs return
Shared letters: ertu. Private to "retour": o. Private to "return": n.
"retour" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC · "return" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "retour" for "return" ever safe?
Which is more common, "retour" or "return"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "retour" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "return" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #348,778 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "retour" and "return" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "rejoué vs retour". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #348,778 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.