débouchévsdéboutéWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#16,345
“débouché” frequency rank
#43,395
“débouté” frequency rank
59740
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature débouché débouté
Definition Endroit où l’on passe d’un lieu resserré dans un lieu plus ouvert. Rejet d’une demande faite en justice.

Where the spellings diverge

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

8 ch
débouché
7 ch
débouté

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. débouché (\de.bu.ʃe\) and débouté (\de.bu.te\) 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 59740, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

débouché is recorded at frequency rank #16,345, classified as anoun, pronounced \de.bu.ʃe\. débouté is at rank #43,395, tagged as anoun, pronounced \de.bu.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 59740, this pair ranks #101,440 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of débouché vs débouté

Shared letters: bdoué. Private to "débouché": ch. Private to "débouté": t.

"débouché" · 8 letters · shape CVCVVCCV  ·  "débouté" · 7 letters · shape CVCVVCV

Frequency comparison

débouché#16,345
débouté#43,395

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "débouché" and "débouté" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\de.bu.ʃe\ versus \de.bu.te\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "débouché" or "débouté"?
"débouché" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #16,345 in our French list, against #43,395 for "débouté". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering débouché vs débouté

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 “débouché” 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