Which to use
“de” is a preposition and “dm” is a symbol - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1
- “de” frequency rank
- #18,173
- “dm” frequency rank
- 18174
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | de | dm |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Marque un ablatif. Mot indiquant la provenance, l’origine ^([note 1]). | Symbole du décimètre, unité de mesure de longueur du Système international (SI), valant 0,1 mètre (10⁻¹ mètre). |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set de and dm apart are highlighted. They share 1 letter in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
de and dm form a confusable pair in the French index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by a single letter - e in “de” becomes m in “dm” - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 18174, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
de is recorded at frequency rank #1, classified as aprep, pronounced \də\. dm is at rank #18,173, tagged as asymbol.
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 18174, this pair ranks #379,635 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "de" and "dm" be used interchangeably?
Remembering de vs dm
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a preposition, it's “de”; for a symbol, it's “dm”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “de” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable