damiervsdenierWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“damier” and “denier” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#37,756
“damier” frequency rank
#34,056
“denier” frequency rank
71812
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature damier denier
Definition Plateau de jeu divisé en carreaux égaux, appelés cases, alternativement de deux couleurs différentes, comme noir et blanc, sur lesquels sont déplacées les pièces au jeu de dames ou au checkers. Monnaie romaine d’argent qui, jusqu’à l’an 536 de Rome, valait dix as et plus tard seize.

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch
damier
6 ch
denier

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. damier (\da.mje\) and denier (\də.nje\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 71812, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

damier is recorded at frequency rank #37,756, classified as anoun, pronounced \da.mje\. denier is at rank #34,056, tagged as anoun, pronounced \də.nje\.

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 71812, this pair ranks #46,203 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of damier vs denier

Shared letters: deir. Private to "damier": am. Private to "denier": n.

"damier" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC  ·  "denier" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • damieradmier · daimer · dameir · damierr · damire · dammier · ddamier · dmaier
  • denierddenier · deiner · deneir · denierr · denire · dennier · dneier · ednier

Frequency comparison

damier#37,756
denier#34,056

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "damier" and "denier" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\da.mje\ versus \də.nje\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "damier" or "denier"?
"denier" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #34,056 in our French list, against #37,756 for "damier". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering damier vs denier

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “damier” 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