degvsdéjàWhat's the difference?

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 spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set deg and déjà apart are highlighted. They share 1 letter in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch
deg
4 ch
déjà

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

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

Frequency comparison

deg#33,522
déjà#44,541

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "deg" and "déjà" be used interchangeably?
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.

Remembering deg vs déjà

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “deg”; for an adverb, it's “déjà”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “deg” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list