dames vs Demers, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“dames” is a noun and “Demers” is a name - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#4,140
“dames” frequency rank: #42,818
“Demers” frequency rank: 46958
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	dames	Demers
Definition	Jeu de dames, jeu stratégique à deux joueurs, se jouant avec des pions blancs et noirs sur un damier de 64, 100 ou 144 cases selon la variante des règles utilisée.	Nom de famille.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set dames and Demers apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch

dames

6 ch

Demers

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: dames is \dam\ while Demers is \də.mɛʁs\. 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 (noun vs name), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46958, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

dames is recorded at frequency rank #4,140, classified as anoun, pronounced \dam\. Demers is at rank #42,818, tagged as aname, pronounced \də.mɛʁs\.

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 46958, this pair ranks #190,713 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of dames vs Demers

Shared letters: dems. Private to "dames": a. Private to "Demers": r.

"dames" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "Demers" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

dames ← admes · daems · damess · dammes · damse · ddames · dmaes
Demers ← ddemers · deemrs · demerrs · demerss · demesr · demmers · demres · dmeers

Frequency comparison

dames#4,140

Demers#42,818

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "dames" and "Demers" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "dames" is a noun and "Demers" a name, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "dames" or "Demers"?

"dames" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,140 in our French list, against #42,818 for "Demers". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering dames vs Demers

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “dames”; for a name, it's “Demers”.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “dames” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable