damiervsdévierWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: damier is a noun, dévier is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“damier” is a noun and “dévier” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#37,756
“damier” frequency rank
#22,248
“dévier” frequency rank
60004
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature damier dévier
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. Se détourner ; être détourné de sa direction.

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch
damier
6 ch
dévier

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

damier and dévier form a confusable pair in the French index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 60004, 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\. dévier is at rank #22,248, tagged as averb, pronounced \de.vje\.

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 60004, this pair ranks #99,986 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Frequency comparison

damier#37,756
dévier#22,248

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "damier" and "dévier" be used interchangeably?
No, "damier" and "dévier" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering damier vs dévier

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “damier”; for a verb, it's “dévier”.
  • 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