Which to use
“débiles” is an adjective and “dédiés” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #12,362
- “débiles” frequency rank
- #12,144
- “dédiés” frequency rank
- 24506
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | débiles | dédiés |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de débile. | Participe passé masculin pluriel de dédier. |
Where the eye mixes débiles and dédiés
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. débiles runs 7 letters (CVCVCVC) against dédiés's 6 (CVCVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: débiles vs dédiés
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: débiles is \de.bil\ while dédiés is \de.dje\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 24506, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
débiles is recorded at frequency rank #12,362, classified as anadj, pronounced \de.bil\. dédiés is at rank #12,144, tagged as averb, pronounced \de.dje\.
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 24506, this pair ranks #346,240 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of débiles vs dédiés
Shared letters: disé. Private to "débiles": bel. Private to "dédiés": -.
"débiles" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC · "dédiés" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "débiles" for "dédiés" ever safe?
In ordinary French text, does "débiles" or "dédiés" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "débiles" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "dédiés" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #346,240 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "débiles" and "dédiés" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "dédiés vs devins". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #346,240 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.