dédainvsdemainWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#27,783
“dédain” frequency rank
#601
“demain” frequency rank
28384
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature dédain demain
Definition Mépris exprimé par l’air, le ton ou le maintien. Les temps à venir.

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch
dédain
6 ch
demain

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. dédain (\de.dɛ̃\) and demain (\də.mɛ̃\) 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 28384, 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\. demain is at rank #601, tagged as anoun, pronounced \də.mɛ̃\.

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 28384, this pair ranks #323,185 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of dédain vs demain

Shared letters: adin. Private to "dédain": é. Private to "demain": em.

"dédain" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC  ·  "demain" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • demainddemain · deamin · demainn · demani · demian · demmain · dmeain · edmain

Frequency comparison

dédain#27,783
demain#601

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "dédain" and "demain" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\de.dɛ̃\ versus \də.mɛ̃\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "dédain" or "demain"?
"demain" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #601 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 demain

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

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list