Which to use
“découler” and “déroule” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #35,908
- “découler” frequency rank
- #5,031
- “déroule” frequency rank
- 40939
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | découler | déroule |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Couler peu à peu et de suite. | Première personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de dérouler. |
Where the eye mixes découler and déroule
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. découler runs 8 letters (CVCVVCVC) against déroule's 7 (CVCVVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: découler vs déroule
A purely visual mix-up. découler (\de.ku.le\) and déroule (\de.ʁul\) 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 40939, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
découler is recorded at frequency rank #35,908, classified as averb, pronounced \de.ku.le\. déroule is at rank #5,031, tagged as averb, pronounced \de.ʁul\.
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 40939, this pair ranks #236,818 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of découler vs déroule
Shared letters: delorué. Private to "découler": c. Private to "déroule": -.
"découler" · 8 letters · shape CVCVVCVC · "déroule" · 7 letters · shape CVCVVCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "découler" and "déroule" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary French text, does "découler" or "déroule" 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 "découler" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "déroule" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #236,818 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "découler" and "déroule" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "découler vs dérouter". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #236,818 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.