Which to use
“déçu” is an adjective and “dou” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #3,752
- “déçu” frequency rank
- #22,238
- “dou” frequency rank
- 25990
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | déçu | dou |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Qui a éprouvé une déception, qui a subi une situation inférieure à ses attentes. | Forme mutée de tou par adoucissement (t → d). |
Where the eye mixes déçu and dou
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: déçu is \de.sy\ while dou is \ˈdu:\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 25990, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
déçu is recorded at frequency rank #3,752, classified as anadj, pronounced \de.sy\. dou is at rank #22,238, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ˈdu:\.
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 25990, this pair ranks #337,718 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of déçu vs dou
Shared letters: du. Private to "déçu": çé. Private to "dou": o.
"déçu" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "dou" · 3 letters · shape CVV