dela

verb

The verdict

“dela” is a moderately-common French word, ranked #19,803 in French word frequency and used as a verb.

#19,803
frequency rank, French
4
letters
3
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Exprimer un sentiment par un jeu de mine.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

dela vs DL
0% similar
dela vs des
50% similar
dela vs der
50% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for dela
PropertyValue
Headworddela
LanguageFrench
Part of speechVerb
Letters4
Frequency rank#19,803
Misspellings tracked3
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “dela” sits in French frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). dela lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The French entry for dela is 4 letters long, classified as a verb. Corpus data places it at rank #19,803 in overall French word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "Exprimer un sentiment par un jeu de mine.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 3 likely wrong-spelling variants for dela, with forms such as "ddela", "dlea", and "edla". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "DL", "des", "der", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct French form is dela, spelled D-E-L-A.

Definition

  1. 1
    Exprimer un sentiment par un jeu de mine.

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: ddela,dlea,edla

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of dela - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

ddela1dlea2edla2
Edit distance from "dela"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 French corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "dela"?
"dela" is spelled D-E-L-A.
What does "dela" mean?
As a verb, "dela" means: Exprimer un sentiment par un jeu de mine.
What words are commonly confused with "dela"?
"dela" is commonly confused with "DL", "des", "der". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
What language does "dela" come from?
"dela" is a French word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “dela”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct French spelling is D-E-L-A - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Don't mix it up with “DL” - see the side-by-side comparison. dela vs DL
  • Browse more French words and confusable pairs in the same reference. French words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list