débarrasvsdébarrasseConfusable pair

Quick tell: débarras is a noun, débarrasse is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“débarras” is a noun and “débarrasse” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#25,288
“débarras” frequency rank
#21,918
“débarrasse” frequency rank
47206
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature débarras débarrasse
Definition Délivrance de ce qui embarrassait, en parlant des personnes aussi bien que des choses. Première personne du singulier de l’indicatif présent de débarrasser.

Where the eye mixes débarras and débarrasse

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. débarras runs 8 letters (CVCVCCVC) against débarrasse's 10 (CVCVCCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
débarras
10 ch
débarrasse

Visual trap between débarras and débarrasse

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: débarras is \de.ba.ʁa\ while débarrasse is \de.ba.ʁas\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “débarras” sits inside “débarrasse”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 47206, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

débarras is recorded at frequency rank #25,288, classified as anoun, pronounced \de.ba.ʁa\. débarrasse is at rank #21,918, tagged as averb, pronounced \de.ba.ʁas\.

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 47206, this pair ranks #188,716 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of débarras vs débarrasse

Shared letters: abdrsé. Private to "débarras": -. Private to "débarrasse": e.

"débarras" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC  ·  "débarrasse" · 10 letters · shape CVCVCCVCCV

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "débarras" and "débarrasse" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "débarras" is a noun and "débarrasse" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "débarras" vs "débarrasse" - which ranks higher?
"débarrasse" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #21,918 in our French list, against #25,288 for "débarras". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "débarras" and "débarrasse" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "débarras" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "débarrasse" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #188,716 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "débarras" and "débarrasse" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "débarasser vs débarrasse". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #188,716 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list