Which to use
“débiles” is an adjective and “devils” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #12,362
- “débiles” frequency rank
- #24,930
- “devils” frequency rank
- 37292
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | débiles | devils |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de débile. | Pluriel de devil. |
Where the eye mixes débiles and devils
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. débiles runs 7 letters (CVCVCVC) against devils's 6 (CVCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses débiles with devils
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: débiles is \de.bil\ while devils is \ˈdɛv.əlz\. 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 noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 37292, 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\. devils is at rank #24,930, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ˈdɛv.əlz\.
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 37292, this pair ranks #263,491 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of débiles vs devils
Shared letters: deils. Private to "débiles": bé. Private to "devils": v.
"débiles" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC · "devils" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- devils ← ddevils · deivls · devills · devilss · devisl · devlis · devvils · dveils
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "débiles" and "devils" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "débiles" vs "devils" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "débiles" and "devils" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "débiles" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "devils" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #263,491 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "débiles" and "devils" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "devils 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 #263,491 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.