Which to use
“retourne” is a noun and “retournent” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #2,449
- “retourne” frequency rank
- #14,552
- “retournent” frequency rank
- 17001
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | retourne | retournent |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Carte qu’on retourne à certains jeux, à la fin de la distribution, et qui détermine ordinairement l’atout. Dans certains jeux on dit virade. | Troisième personne du pluriel du présent de l’indicatif de retourner. |
Same sound, different letters: retourne vs retournent
Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 8 letters. retourne runs 8 letters (CVCVVCCV) against retournent's 10 (CVCVVCCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Ear matches; page differs - retourne and retournent
Say them out loud and nothing separates them: retourne and retournent carry the same recorded pronunciation, \ʁə.tuʁn\. Grammar is what tells them apart: one is anoun, the other averb, so most sentences will only accept one of them. They differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “retourne” sits inside “retournent”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17001, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
retourne is recorded at frequency rank #2,449, classified as anoun, pronounced \ʁə.tuʁn\. retournent is at rank #14,552, tagged as averb, pronounced \ʁə.tuʁn\.
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 17001, this pair ranks #385,270 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of retourne vs retournent
Shared letters: enortu. Private to "retourne": -. Private to "retournent": -.
"retourne" · 8 letters · shape CVCVVCCV · "retournent" · 10 letters · shape CVCVVCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- retourne ← ertourne · reoturne · retorune · retounre · retouren · retournne · retourrne · rettourne
- retournent ← ertournent · reoturnent · retorunent · retounrent · retourennt · retournennt · retournentt · retournetn
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "retourne" for "retournent" ever safe?
Which is more common, "retourne" or "retournent"?
What to do next
Sound matches; spelling doesn't. Use the exits below to lock the right form or check a cousin pair.
- Full dictionary entry for "retourne" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "retournent" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #385,270 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "retourne" and "retournent" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "retournent vs retourneront". 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 #385,270 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.