Which to use
“débarquer” and “démasquer” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #10,312
- “débarquer” frequency rank
- #32,793
- “démasquer” frequency rank
- 43105
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | débarquer | démasquer |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tirer, ou faire sortir d’un navire, d’un bateau, ce qu’il contient. | Faire reconnaître quelqu’un en ôtant le masque qu’il a sur le visage. |
Where the eye mixes débarquer and démasquer
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. débarquer and démasquer follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVCCVVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses débarquer with démasquer
A purely visual mix-up. débarquer (\de.baʁ.ke\) and démasquer (\de.mas.ke\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 43105, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
débarquer is recorded at frequency rank #10,312, classified as averb, pronounced \de.baʁ.ke\. démasquer is at rank #32,793, tagged as averb, pronounced \de.mas.ke\.
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 43105, this pair ranks #220,565 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of débarquer vs démasquer
Shared letters: adeqrué. Private to "débarquer": b. Private to "démasquer": ms.
"débarquer" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCVVC · "démasquer" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCVVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "débarquer" for "démasquer" ever safe?
Frequency check: "débarquer" vs "démasquer" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "débarquer" and "démasquer" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "débarquer" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "démasquer" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #220,565 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "débarquer" and "démasquer" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "débusquer vs démasquer". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #220,565 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.