Which to use
“débiter” is a verb and “débiteur” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #36,810
- “débiter” frequency rank
- #18,719
- “débiteur” frequency rank
- 55529
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | débiter | débiteur |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Vendre d’une façon continue, répétée, surtout au détail. | Celui qui doit de l’argent, qui a une dette. |
Where the eye mixes débiter and débiteur
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. débiter runs 7 letters (CVCVCVC) against débiteur's 8 (CVCVCVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between débiter and débiteur
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: débiter is \de.bi.te\ while débiteur is \de.bi.tœʁ\. 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 (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 55529, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
débiter is recorded at frequency rank #36,810, classified as averb, pronounced \de.bi.te\. débiteur is at rank #18,719, tagged as anoun, pronounced \de.bi.tœʁ\.
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 55529, this pair ranks #126,902 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of débiter vs débiteur
Shared letters: bdeirté. Private to "débiter": -. Private to "débiteur": u.
"débiter" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC · "débiteur" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "débiter" and "débiteur" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary French text, does "débiter" or "débiteur" show up more?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "débiter" and "débiteur" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "débiter" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "débiteur" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #126,902 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "débiter" and "débiteur" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "débiter vs désister". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #126,902 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.