débitsvsdevilsConfusable pair

Which to use

“débits” and “devils” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#18,177
“débits” frequency rank
#24,930
“devils” frequency rank
43107
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature débits devils
Definition Pluriel de débit. Pluriel de devil.

Where the eye mixes débits and devils

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. débits and devils follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVCC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

6 ch
débits
6 ch
devils

Visual trap between débits and devils

A purely visual mix-up. débits (\de.bi\) and devils (\ˈdɛv.əlz\) 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 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 43107, 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\. 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 43107, this pair ranks #220,547 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of débits vs devils

Shared letters: dis. Private to "débits": bté. Private to "devils": elv.

"débits" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC  ·  "devils" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • devils ← ddevils · deivls · devills · devilss · devisl · devlis · devvils · dveils

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "débits" and "devils" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently (\de.bi\ versus \ˈdɛv.əlz\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "débits" or "devils"?
"débits" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #18,177 in our French list, against #24,930 for "devils". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "débits" 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 #220,547 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "débits" 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 #220,547 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list