dédain vs délai, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#27,783
“dédain” frequency rank: #2,711
“délai” frequency rank: 30494
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	dédain	délai
Definition	Mépris exprimé par l’air, le ton ou le maintien.	Temps accordé pour faire une chose, ou à l’expiration duquel on sera tenu de faire une certaine chose.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set dédain and délai apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch

dédain

5 ch

délai

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. dédain (\de.dɛ̃\) and délai (\de.lɛ\) 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 30494, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

dédain is recorded at frequency rank #27,783, classified as anoun, pronounced \de.dɛ̃\. délai is at rank #2,711, tagged as anoun, pronounced \de.lɛ\.

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 30494, this pair ranks #309,949 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of dédain vs délai

Shared letters: adié. Private to "dédain": n. Private to "délai": l.

"dédain" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC · "délai" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV

Frequency comparison

dédain#27,783

délai#2,711

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "dédain" and "délai" be used interchangeably?

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

Which is more common, "dédain" or "délai"?

"délai" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,711 in our French list, against #27,783 for "dédain". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering dédain vs délai

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