deemvsderpWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: deem is a verb, derp is an intj, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“deem” is a verb and “derp” is an intj - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#18,536
“deem” frequency rank
#48,699
“derp” frequency rank
67235
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature deem derp
Definition To hold in belief or estimation; to adjudge as a conclusion; to regard as being; to evaluate according to one's beliefs; to account. Draws attention to an act of foolishness or stupidity.

Where the eye mixes deem and derp

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

4 ch
deem
4 ch
derp

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: deem is /diːm/ while derp is /dɝp/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs intj), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 67235, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

deem is recorded at frequency rank #18,536, classified as averb, pronounced /diːm/. derp is at rank #48,699, tagged as anintj, pronounced /dɝp/.

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 67235, this pair ranks #64,291 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of deem vs derp

Shared letters: de. Private to "deem": m. Private to "derp": pr.

"deem" · 4 letters · shape CVVC  ·  "derp" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • deemddeem · deemm · deme · edem
  • derpdderp · depr · derpp · derrp · drep · edrp

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "deem" and "derp" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "deem" is a verb and "derp" an intj, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "deem" or "derp"?
"deem" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #18,536 in our English list, against #48,699 for "derp". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list