débordevsdéborderWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#15,859
“déborde” frequency rank
#18,720
“déborder” frequency rank
34579
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature déborde déborder
Definition Première personne du singulier de l’indicatif présent de déborder. Dépasser le bord, en parlant notamment des fleuves, des rivières, des étangs, de l’eau en général.

Where the spellings diverge

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

7 ch
déborde
8 ch
déborder

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. déborde (\de.bɔʁd\) and déborder (\de.bɔʁ.de\) 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) - “déborde” sits inside “déborder”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 34579, 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\. déborder is at rank #18,720, tagged as averb, pronounced \de.bɔʁ.de\.

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 34579, this pair ranks #282,802 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of déborde vs déborder

Shared letters: bdeoré. Private to "déborde": -. Private to "déborder": -.

"déborde" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV  ·  "déborder" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC

Frequency comparison

déborde#15,859
déborder#18,720

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "déborde" and "déborder" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\de.bɔʁd\ versus \de.bɔʁ.de\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "déborde" or "déborder"?
"déborde" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #15,859 in our French list, against #18,720 for "déborder". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering déborde vs déborder

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