découpervsdéroulerWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#15,361
“découper” frequency rank
#11,956
“dérouler” frequency rank
27317
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature découper dérouler
Definition Couper par morceaux une pièce de viande ou détacher un à un les membres d’une pièce de volaille, de gibier. Étendre ce qui était roulé et le mettre de son long.

Where the spellings diverge

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

8 ch
découper
8 ch
dérouler

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. découper (\de.ku.pe\) and dérouler (\de.ʁu.le\) 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 27317, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

découper is recorded at frequency rank #15,361, classified as averb, pronounced \de.ku.pe\. dérouler is at rank #11,956, tagged as averb, pronounced \de.ʁu.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 27317, this pair ranks #329,751 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of découper vs dérouler

Shared letters: deorué. Private to "découper": cp. Private to "dérouler": l.

"découper" · 8 letters · shape CVCVVCVC  ·  "dérouler" · 8 letters · shape CVCVVCVC

Frequency comparison

découper#15,361
dérouler#11,956

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "découper" and "dérouler" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\de.ku.pe\ versus \de.ʁu.le\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "découper" or "dérouler"?
"dérouler" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #11,956 in our French list, against #15,361 for "découper". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering découper vs dérouler

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 “découper” 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