Which to use
“de” is a preposition and “dja” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1
- “de” frequency rank
- #46,702
- “dja” frequency rank
- 46703
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | de | dja |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Marque un ablatif. Mot indiquant la provenance, l’origine ^([note 1]). | Comme, pareil à. |
Where the eye mixes de and dja
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Look-alike desk: de vs dja
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: de is \də\ while dja is \d͡ʒa\. 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 (preposition vs adverb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46703, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
de is recorded at frequency rank #1, classified as aprep, pronounced \də\. dja is at rank #46,702, tagged as anadv, pronounced \d͡ʒa\.
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 46703, this pair ranks #192,805 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of de vs dja
Shared letters: d. Private to "de": e. Private to "dja": aj.
"de" · 2 letters · shape CV · "dja" · 3 letters · shape CCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "de" and "dja" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "de" vs "dja" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "de" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "dja" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #192,805 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "de" and "dja" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "dja vs dray". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #192,805 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.