Which to use
“dear” is an adjective and “déjà” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #30,506
- “dear” frequency rank
- #44,541
- “déjà” frequency rank
- 75047
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | dear | déjà |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | lieb, teuer, süß, entzückend, reizend, herzig | zu einem früheren Zeitpunkt als erwartet |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set dear and déjà apart are highlighted. They share 1 letter in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: dear is [diɹ] while déjà is [de.ʒa]. 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 (adjective vs adverb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 75047, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
dear is recorded at frequency rank #30,506, classified as anadj, pronounced [diɹ]. déjà is at rank #44,541, tagged as anadv, pronounced [de.ʒa].
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 75047, this pair ranks #317,789 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of dear vs déjà
Shared letters: d. Private to "dear": aer. Private to "déjà": jàé.
"dear" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "déjà" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- dear ← ddear · dearr · dera · edar
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "dear" and "déjà" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "dear" or "déjà"?
Remembering dear vs déjà
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “dear”; for an adverb, it's “déjà”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “dear” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable