Which to use
“déboucher” and “doucher” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #18,465
- “déboucher” frequency rank
- #27,410
- “doucher” frequency rank
- 45875
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | déboucher | doucher |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Débarrasser de ce qui bouche, de ce qui obstrue. | Arroser au moyen d’une douche. |
Where the eye mixes déboucher and doucher
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. déboucher runs 9 letters (CVCVVCCVC) against doucher's 7 (CVVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between déboucher and doucher
A purely visual mix-up. déboucher (\de.bu.ʃe\) and doucher (\du.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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 45875, 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\. doucher is at rank #27,410, tagged as averb, pronounced \du.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 45875, this pair ranks #199,361 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of déboucher vs doucher
Shared letters: cdehoru. Private to "déboucher": bé. Private to "doucher": -.
"déboucher" · 9 letters · shape CVCVVCCVC · "doucher" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- doucher ← ddoucher · docuher · douccher · doucehr · doucherr · douchher · douchre · douhcer
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "déboucher" and "doucher" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "déboucher" vs "doucher" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "déboucher" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "doucher" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #199,361 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "déboucher" and "doucher" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "docker vs doucher". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #199,361 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.