Which to use
“déboule” and “déroula” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #42,835
- “déboule” frequency rank
- #47,858
- “déroula” frequency rank
- 90693
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | déboule | déroula |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Première personne du singulier de l’indicatif présent de débouler. | Troisième personne du singulier du passé simple de dérouler. |
Where the eye mixes déboule and déroula
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. déboule and déroula follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVVCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses déboule with déroula
A purely visual mix-up. déboule (\de.bul\) and déroula (\de.ʁu.la\) 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 90693, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
déboule is recorded at frequency rank #42,835, classified as averb, pronounced \de.bul\. déroula is at rank #47,858, tagged as averb, pronounced \de.ʁu.la\.
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 90693, this pair ranks #4,554 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of déboule vs déroula
Shared letters: dloué. Private to "déboule": be. Private to "déroula": ar.
"déboule" · 7 letters · shape CVCVVCV · "déroula" · 7 letters · shape CVCVVCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "déboule" and "déroula" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary French text, does "déboule" or "déroula" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "déboule" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "déroula" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #4,554 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "déboule" and "déroula" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "défoule vs déroula". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #4,554 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.