Which to use
“débits” and “désirs” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #18,177
- “débits” frequency rank
- #7,819
- “désirs” frequency rank
- 25996
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | débits | désirs |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de débit. | Pluriel de désir. |
Where the eye mixes débits and désirs
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. débits and désirs follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVCC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: débits vs désirs
A purely visual mix-up. débits (\de.bi\) and désirs (\de.ziʁ\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 25996, 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\. désirs is at rank #7,819, tagged as anoun, pronounced \de.ziʁ\.
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 25996, this pair ranks #337,684 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of débits vs désirs
Shared letters: disé. Private to "débits": bt. Private to "désirs": r.
"débits" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC · "désirs" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "débits" and "désirs" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "débits" vs "désirs" - which ranks higher?
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 "débits" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "désirs" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #337,684 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "débits" and "désirs" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "débits vs devins". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #337,684 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.