Which to use
“déborder” is a verb and “débordés” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #18,720
- “déborder” frequency rank
- #31,455
- “débordés” frequency rank
- 50175
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | déborder | débordés |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Dépasser le bord, en parlant notamment des fleuves, des rivières, des étangs, de l’eau en général. | Masculin pluriel de débordé. |
Same sound, different letters: déborder vs débordés
Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 6 letters. déborder and débordés follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Ear matches; page differs - déborder and débordés
Say them out loud and nothing separates them: déborder and débordés carry the same recorded pronunciation, \de.bɔʁ.de\. Grammar is what tells them apart: one is averb, the other anadjective, so most sentences will only accept one of them. They share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 50175, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
déborder is recorded at frequency rank #18,720, classified as averb, pronounced \de.bɔʁ.de\. 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 50175, this pair ranks #164,699 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of déborder vs débordés
Shared letters: bdoré. Private to "déborder": e. Private to "débordés": s.
"déborder" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC · "débordés" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "déborder" and "débordés" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "déborder" vs "débordés" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Sound matches; spelling doesn't. Use the exits below to lock the right form or check a cousin pair.
- Full dictionary entry for "déborder" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "débordés" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #164,699 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "déborder" and "débordés" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "débordée vs débordés". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #164,699 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.