Which to use
“débiter” and “dévier” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #36,810
- “débiter” frequency rank
- #22,248
- “dévier” frequency rank
- 59058
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | débiter | dévier |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Vendre d’une façon continue, répétée, surtout au détail. | Se détourner ; être détourné de sa direction. |
Where the eye mixes débiter and dévier
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. débiter runs 7 letters (CVCVCVC) against dévier's 6 (CVCVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between débiter and dévier
A purely visual mix-up. débiter (\de.bi.te\) and dévier (\de.vje\) 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 59058, 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\. dévier is at rank #22,248, tagged as averb, pronounced \de.vje\.
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 59058, this pair ranks #105,300 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of débiter vs dévier
Shared letters: deiré. Private to "débiter": bt. Private to "dévier": v.
"débiter" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC · "dévier" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "débiter" for "dévier" ever safe?
In ordinary French text, does "débiter" or "dévier" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "débiter" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "dévier" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #105,300 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "débiter" and "dévier" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "débiter vs désister". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #105,300 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.