dealsvsdevilsWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#36,347
“deals” frequency rank
#24,930
“devils” frequency rank
61277
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature deals devils
Definition Pluriel de deal. Pluriel de devil.

Where the spellings diverge

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

5 ch
deals
6 ch
devils

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. deals (\dil\) and devils (\ˈdɛv.əlz\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 61277, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

deals is recorded at frequency rank #36,347, classified as anoun, pronounced \dil\. devils is at rank #24,930, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ˈdɛv.əlz\.

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 61277, this pair ranks #93,104 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of deals vs devils

Shared letters: dels. Private to "deals": a. Private to "devils": iv.

"deals" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC  ·  "devils" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • dealsdaels · ddeals · dealls · dealss · deasl · delas · edals
  • devilsddevils · deivls · devills · devilss · devisl · devlis · devvils · dveils

Frequency comparison

deals#36,347
devils#24,930

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "deals" and "devils" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\dil\ versus \ˈdɛv.əlz\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "deals" or "devils"?
"devils" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #24,930 in our French list, against #36,347 for "deals". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering deals vs devils

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 “deals” 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