Which to use
“débiles” and “demies” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #12,362
- “débiles” frequency rank
- #42,819
- “demies” frequency rank
- 55181
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | débiles | demies |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de débile. | Féminin pluriel de demi. |
Where the eye mixes débiles and demies
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. débiles runs 7 letters (CVCVCVC) against demies's 6 (CVCVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: débiles vs demies
A purely visual mix-up. débiles (\de.bil\) and demies (\də.mi\) 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 55181, 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\. demies is at rank #42,819, tagged as anadj, pronounced \də.mi\.
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 55181, this pair ranks #129,130 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of débiles vs demies
Shared letters: deis. Private to "débiles": blé. Private to "demies": m.
"débiles" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC · "demies" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- demies ← ddemies · deimes · demeis · demiess · demise · demmies · dmeies · edmies
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "débiles" for "demies" ever safe?
Which is more common, "débiles" or "demies"?
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 "demies" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #129,130 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "débiles" and "demies" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "demies vs devins". 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 #129,130 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.