Which to use
“déborder” and “dévorer” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #18,720
- “déborder” frequency rank
- #17,692
- “dévorer” frequency rank
- 36412
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | déborder | dévorer |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Dépasser le bord, en parlant notamment des fleuves, des rivières, des étangs, de l’eau en général. | Manger avec voracité et rapidité (le sujet désigne un animal carnassier). |
Where the eye mixes déborder and dévorer
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. déborder runs 8 letters (CVCVCCVC) against dévorer's 7 (CVCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: déborder vs dévorer
A purely visual mix-up. déborder (\de.bɔʁ.de\) and dévorer (\de.vɔ.ʁe\) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 36412, 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\. dévorer is at rank #17,692, tagged as averb, pronounced \de.vɔ.ʁe\.
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 36412, this pair ranks #269,802 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of déborder vs dévorer
Shared letters: deoré. Private to "déborder": b. Private to "dévorer": v.
"déborder" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC · "dévorer" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "déborder" and "dévorer" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary French text, does "déborder" or "dévorer" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "déborder" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "dévorer" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #269,802 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "déborder" and "dévorer" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "dévorent vs dévorer". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #269,802 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.