dèche vs degré, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#49,607
“dèche” frequency rank: #2,871
“degré” frequency rank: 52478
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	dèche	degré
Definition	Misère, gêne financière.	Espace compris entre deux marches d’un escalier.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set dèche and degré apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch

dèche

5 ch

degré

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. dèche (\dɛʃ\) and degré (\də.ɡʁe\) 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 4 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 52478, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

dèche is recorded at frequency rank #49,607, classified as anoun, pronounced \dɛʃ\. degré is at rank #2,871, tagged as anoun, pronounced \də.ɡʁe\.

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 52478, this pair ranks #147,450 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of dèche vs degré

Shared letters: de. Private to "dèche": chè. Private to "degré": gré.

"dèche" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "degré" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Frequency comparison

dèche#49,607

degré#2,871

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "dèche" and "degré" be used interchangeably?

No. They are said differently (\dɛʃ\ versus \də.ɡʁe\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.

Which is more common, "dèche" or "degré"?

"degré" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,871 in our French list, against #49,607 for "dèche". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering dèche vs degré

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 “dèche” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable