débordervsdéporterWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#18,720
“déborder” frequency rank
#40,229
“déporter” frequency rank
58949
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature déborder déporter
Definition Dépasser le bord, en parlant notamment des fleuves, des rivières, des étangs, de l’eau en général. Punir de la peine de la déportation, exiler.

Where the spellings diverge

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

8 ch
déborder
8 ch
déporter

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. déborder (\de.bɔʁ.de\) and déporter (\de.pɔʁ.te\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 58949, 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\. déporter is at rank #40,229, tagged as averb, pronounced \de.pɔʁ.te\.

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 58949, this pair ranks #105,972 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of déborder vs déporter

Shared letters: deoré. Private to "déborder": b. Private to "déporter": pt.

"déborder" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC  ·  "déporter" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC

Frequency comparison

déborder#18,720
déporter#40,229

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "déborder" and "déporter" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\de.bɔʁ.de\ versus \de.pɔʁ.te\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "déborder" or "déporter"?
"déborder" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #18,720 in our French list, against #40,229 for "déporter". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering déborder vs déporter

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 “déborder” 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