découlervsdésolerWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#35,908
“découler” frequency rank
#39,770
“désoler” frequency rank
75678
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature découler désoler
Definition Couler peu à peu et de suite. Transformer en solitude une région, une ville, en y exerçant des ravages.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set découler and désoler apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
découler
7 ch
désoler

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. découler (\de.ku.le\) and désoler (\de.zɔ.le\) 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 75678, 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\. désoler is at rank #39,770, tagged as averb, pronounced \de.zɔ.le\.

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 75678, this pair ranks #33,343 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of découler vs désoler

Shared letters: deloré. Private to "découler": cu. Private to "désoler": s.

"découler" · 8 letters · shape CVCVVCVC  ·  "désoler" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC

Frequency comparison

découler#35,908
désoler#39,770

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "découler" and "désoler" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\de.ku.le\ versus \de.zɔ.le\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "découler" or "désoler"?
"découler" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #35,908 in our French list, against #39,770 for "désoler". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering découler vs désoler

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

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list