retournavsretournerWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#16,463
“retourna” frequency rank
#2,055
“retourner” frequency rank
18518
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature retourna retourner
Definition Troisième personne du singulier du passé simple de retourner. Aller de nouveau en un lieu.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set retourna and retourner apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
retourna
9 ch
retourner

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. retourna (\ʁə.tuʁ.na\) and retourner (\ʁə.tuʁ.ne\) 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 18518, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

retourna is recorded at frequency rank #16,463, classified as averb, pronounced \ʁə.tuʁ.na\. retourner is at rank #2,055, tagged as averb, pronounced \ʁə.tuʁ.ne\.

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 18518, this pair ranks #377,902 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of retourna vs retourner

Shared letters: enortu. Private to "retourna": a. Private to "retourner": -.

"retourna" · 8 letters · shape CVCVVCCV  ·  "retourner" · 9 letters · shape CVCVVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • retournaertourna · reoturna · retoruna · retounra · retouran · retournna · retourrna · rettourna
  • retournerertourner · reoturner · retoruner · retounrer · retourenr · retournerr · retournner · retournre

Frequency comparison

retourna#16,463
retourner#2,055

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "retourna" and "retourner" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\ʁə.tuʁ.na\ versus \ʁə.tuʁ.ne\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "retourna" or "retourner"?
"retourner" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,055 in our French list, against #16,463 for "retourna". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering retourna vs retourner

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 “retourna” 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