Which to use
“dear” and “dev” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #35,457
- “dear” frequency rank
- #15,608
- “dev” frequency rank
- 51065
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | dear | dev |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Cher, chère. | Forme mutée de tev par adoucissement (t → d). |
Where the eye mixes dear and dev
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between dear and dev
A purely visual mix-up. dear (\ˈdɪɹ\) and dev (\ˈdew\) 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 51065, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
dear is recorded at frequency rank #35,457, classified as anadj, pronounced \ˈdɪɹ\. dev is at rank #15,608, tagged as anadj, pronounced \ˈdew\.
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 51065, this pair ranks #157,859 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of dear vs dev
Shared letters: de. Private to "dear": ar. Private to "dev": v.
"dear" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "dev" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- dear ← ddear · dearr · dera · edar
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "dear" for "dev" ever safe?
In ordinary French text, does "dear" or "dev" show up more?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "dear" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "dev" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #157,859 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "dear" and "dev" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "dear vs dray". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #157,859 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.