débitsvsdemiesWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: débits is a noun, demies is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“débits” is a noun and “demies” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#18,177
“débits” frequency rank
#42,819
“demies” frequency rank
60996
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature débits demies
Definition Pluriel de débit. Féminin pluriel de demi.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set débits and demies apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
débits
6 ch
demies

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: débits is \de.bi\ while demies is \də.mi\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 60996, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

débits is recorded at frequency rank #18,177, classified as anoun, pronounced \de.bi\. 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 60996, this pair ranks #94,637 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of débits vs demies

Shared letters: dis. Private to "débits": bté. Private to "demies": em.

"débits" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC  ·  "demies" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • demiesddemies · deimes · demeis · demiess · demise · demmies · dmeies · edmies

Frequency comparison

débits#18,177
demies#42,819

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "débits" and "demies" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "débits" is a noun and "demies" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "débits" or "demies"?
"débits" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #18,177 in our French list, against #42,819 for "demies". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering débits vs demies

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “débits”; for an adjective, it's “demies”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “débits” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list