débordevsdébordentWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#15,859
“déborde” frequency rank
#31,454
“débordent” frequency rank
47313
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature déborde débordent
Definition Première personne du singulier de l’indicatif présent de déborder. Troisième personne du pluriel de l’indicatif présent de déborder.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set déborde and débordent apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
déborde
9 ch
débordent

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

This is the hard kind. déborde and débordent are pronounced identically (\de.bɔʁd\) and both work as averb. Neither the ear nor the grammar will rescue you; only the meaning does, so the glosses below are the whole decision. They differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “déborde” sits inside “débordent”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 47313, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

déborde is recorded at frequency rank #15,859, classified as averb, pronounced \de.bɔʁd\. débordent is at rank #31,454, tagged as averb, pronounced \de.bɔʁd\.

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 47313, this pair ranks #187,939 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of déborde vs débordent

Shared letters: bdeoré. Private to "déborde": -. Private to "débordent": nt.

"déborde" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV  ·  "débordent" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCVCC

Frequency comparison

déborde#15,859
débordent#31,454

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "déborde" and "débordent" be used interchangeably?
No. They are pronounced the same (\de.bɔʁd\), which is exactly why they get swapped in writing, but the dictionary meanings above are different, and pronunciation is no guide here.
Which is more common, "déborde" or "débordent"?
"déborde" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #15,859 in our French list, against #31,454 for "débordent". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering déborde vs débordent

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “déborde” 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