Which to use
“déboucher” and “débourser” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #18,465
- “déboucher” frequency rank
- #22,546
- “débourser” frequency rank
- 41011
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | déboucher | débourser |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Débarrasser de ce qui bouche, de ce qui obstrue. | Tirer de l’argent de sa bourse, de sa caisse, pour faire un paiement. |
Where the eye mixes déboucher and débourser
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. déboucher and débourser follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses déboucher with débourser
A purely visual mix-up. déboucher (\de.bu.ʃe\) and débourser (\de.buʁ.se\) 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 41011, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
déboucher is recorded at frequency rank #18,465, classified as averb, pronounced \de.bu.ʃe\. débourser is at rank #22,546, tagged as averb, pronounced \de.buʁ.se\.
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 41011, this pair ranks #236,227 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of déboucher vs débourser
Shared letters: bdeorué. Private to "déboucher": ch. Private to "débourser": s.
"déboucher" · 9 letters · shape CVCVVCCVC · "débourser" · 9 letters · shape CVCVVCCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "déboucher" for "débourser" ever safe?
Frequency check: "déboucher" vs "débourser" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "déboucher" and "débourser" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "déboucher" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "débourser" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #236,227 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "déboucher" and "débourser" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "déboucher vs décocher". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #236,227 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.