Which to use
“déjà” is an adverb and “delay” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #44,541
- “déjà” frequency rank
- #28,143
- “delay” frequency rank
- 72684
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | déjà | delay |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | zu einem früheren Zeitpunkt als erwartet | Aufenthalt |
Where the eye mixes déjà and delay
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Look-alike desk: déjà vs delay
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: déjà is [de.ʒa] while delay is [dɪˈleɪ]. 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 (adverb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 72684, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
déjà is recorded at frequency rank #44,541, classified as anadv, pronounced [de.ʒa]. delay is at rank #28,143, tagged as anoun, pronounced [dɪˈleɪ].
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 72684, this pair ranks #381,364 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of déjà vs delay
Shared letters: d. Private to "déjà": jàé. Private to "delay": aely.
"déjà" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "delay" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
- delay ← ddelay · dealy · delayy · dellay · delya · dleay · edlay
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "déjà" and "delay" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "déjà" or "delay"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "déjà" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "delay" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #381,364 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "déjà" and "delay" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "déjà vs dess". 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 #381,364 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.