Which to use
“déborde” is a verb and “déforme” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #15,859
- “déborde” frequency rank
- #30,576
- “déforme” frequency rank
- 46435
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | déborde | déforme |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Première personne du singulier de l’indicatif présent de déborder. | Baisse de forme ou de moral. |
Where the eye mixes déborde and déforme
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses déborde with déforme
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: déborde is \de.bɔʁd\ while déforme is \de.fɔʁm\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46435, 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\. déforme is at rank #30,576, tagged as anoun, pronounced \de.fɔʁm\.
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 46435, this pair ranks #194,956 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of déborde vs déforme
Shared letters: deoré. Private to "déborde": b. Private to "déforme": fm.
"déborde" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV · "déforme" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "déborde" for "déforme" ever safe?
Frequency check: "déborde" vs "déforme" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "déborde" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "déforme" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #194,956 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "déborde" and "déforme" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "déforme vs déforment". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #194,956 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.