débloquevsdébloquerTell them apart

Which to use

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

#27,781
“débloque” frequency rank
#12,769
“débloquer” frequency rank
40550
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature débloque débloquer
Definition Première personne du singulier de l’indicatif présent de débloquer. Délivrer du blocus.

Where the eye mixes débloque and débloquer

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. débloque runs 8 letters (CVCCVCVV) against débloquer's 9 (CVCCVCVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
débloque
9 ch
débloquer

Look-alike desk: débloque vs débloquer

A purely visual mix-up. débloque (\de.blɔk\) and débloquer (\de.blɔ.ke\) 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 extra letter(s) - “débloque” sits inside “débloquer”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40550, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

débloque is recorded at frequency rank #27,781, classified as averb, pronounced \de.blɔk\. débloquer is at rank #12,769, tagged as averb, pronounced \de.blɔ.ke\.

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 40550, this pair ranks #239,664 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of débloque vs débloquer

Shared letters: bdeloqué. Private to "débloque": -. Private to "débloquer": r.

"débloque" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVV  ·  "débloquer" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCVVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "débloque" and "débloquer" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently (\de.blɔk\ versus \de.blɔ.ke\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary French text, does "débloque" or "débloquer" show up more?
"débloquer" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,769 in our French list, against #27,781 for "débloque". 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 "débloque" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "débloquer" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #239,664 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "débloque" and "débloquer" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "débloquer vs débusquer". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #239,664 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