degvsdéjàConfusable pair

Quick tell: deg is a verb, déjà is an adverb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“deg” is a verb and “déjà” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#33,522
“deg” frequency rank
#44,541
“déjà” frequency rank
78063
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature deg déjà
Definition 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs degt zu einem früheren Zeitpunkt als erwartet

Where the eye mixes deg and déjà

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence. deg runs 3 letters (CVC) against déjà's 4 (CVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

3 ch
deg
4 ch
déjà

Look-alike desk: deg vs déjà

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: deg is [dɛk] while déjà is [de.ʒa]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adverb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 78063, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

deg is recorded at frequency rank #33,522, classified as averb, pronounced [dɛk]. 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 78063, this pair ranks #246,648 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of deg vs déjà

Shared letters: d. Private to "deg": eg. Private to "déjà": jàé.

"deg" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "déjà" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "deg" for "déjà" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "deg" is a verb and "déjà" an adverb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "deg" or "déjà"?
"deg" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #33,522 in our German list, against #44,541 for "déjà". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "deg" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "déjà" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #246,648 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "deg" and "déjà" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "déjà vs dess". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #246,648 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list