Which to use
“rétréci” and “rétrécir” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #38,032
- “rétréci” frequency rank
- #40,481
- “rétrécir” frequency rank
- 78513
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | rétréci | rétrécir |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Participe passé masculin singulier de rétrécir. | Rendre plus étroit, moins large. |
Where the eye mixes rétréci and rétrécir
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: rétréci vs rétrécir
A purely visual mix-up. rétréci (\ʁe.tʁe.si\) and rétrécir (\ʁe.tʁe.siʁ\) 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 extra letter(s) - “rétréci” sits inside “rétrécir”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 78513, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
rétréci is recorded at frequency rank #38,032, classified as averb, pronounced \ʁe.tʁe.si\. rétrécir is at rank #40,481, tagged as averb, pronounced \ʁe.tʁe.siʁ\.
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 78513, this pair ranks #25,549 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of rétréci vs rétrécir
Shared letters: cirté. Private to "rétréci": -. Private to "rétrécir": -.
"rétréci" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV · "rétrécir" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "rétréci" and "rétrécir" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "rétréci" or "rétrécir"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "rétréci" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "rétrécir" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #25,549 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "rétréci" and "rétrécir" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "retracé vs rétréci". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #25,549 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.