Which to use
“débouchent” and “déboucher” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #38,254
- “débouchent” frequency rank
- #18,465
- “déboucher” frequency rank
- 56719
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | débouchent | déboucher |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Troisième personne du pluriel de l’indicatif présent de déboucher. | Débarrasser de ce qui bouche, de ce qui obstrue. |
Where the eye mixes débouchent and déboucher
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. débouchent runs 10 letters (CVCVVCCVCC) against déboucher's 9 (CVCVVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: débouchent vs déboucher
A purely visual mix-up. débouchent (\de.buʃ\) and déboucher (\de.bu.ʃe\) 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 56719, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
débouchent is recorded at frequency rank #38,254, classified as averb, pronounced \de.buʃ\. déboucher is at rank #18,465, tagged as averb, pronounced \de.bu.ʃe\.
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 56719, this pair ranks #119,349 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of débouchent vs déboucher
Shared letters: bcdehoué. Private to "débouchent": nt. Private to "déboucher": r.
"débouchent" · 10 letters · shape CVCVVCCVCC · "déboucher" · 9 letters · shape CVCVVCCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "débouchent" and "déboucher" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "débouchent" vs "déboucher" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "débouchent" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "déboucher" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #119,349 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "débouchent" and "déboucher" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "débouchant vs débouchent". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #119,349 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.