débordentvsdébordésWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: débordent is a verb, débordés is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“débordent” is a verb and “débordés” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#31,454
“débordent” frequency rank
#31,455
“débordés” frequency rank
62909
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature débordent débordés
Definition Troisième personne du pluriel de l’indicatif présent de déborder. Masculin pluriel de débordé.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set débordent and débordés apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

9 ch
débordent
8 ch
débordés

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: débordent is \de.bɔʁd\ while débordés is \de.bɔʁ.de\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 62909, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

débordent is recorded at frequency rank #31,454, classified as averb, pronounced \de.bɔʁd\. débordés is at rank #31,455, tagged as anadj, 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 62909, this pair ranks #84,621 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of débordent vs débordés

Shared letters: bdoré. Private to "débordent": ent. Private to "débordés": s.

"débordent" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCVCC  ·  "débordés" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC

Frequency comparison

débordent#31,454
débordés#31,455

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "débordent" and "débordés" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "débordent" is a verb and "débordés" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "débordent" or "débordés"?
"débordent" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #31,454 in our French list, against #31,455 for "débordés". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering débordent vs débordés

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “débordent”; for an adjective, it's “débordés”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “débordent” 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