Which to use
“dédale” and “défilé” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #30,989
- “dédale” frequency rank
- #6,498
- “défilé” frequency rank
- 37487
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | dédale | défilé |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Labyrinthe, lieu où l’on s’égare, où l’on se perd, à cause de la complication des détours. | Passage étroit où il ne peut passer que peu de personnes de front. |
Where the eye mixes dédale and défilé
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. dédale and défilé follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: dédale vs défilé
A purely visual mix-up. dédale (\de.dal\) and défilé (\de.fi.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 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 37487, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
dédale is recorded at frequency rank #30,989, classified as anoun, pronounced \de.dal\. défilé is at rank #6,498, tagged as anoun, pronounced \de.fi.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 37487, this pair ranks #262,171 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of dédale vs défilé
Shared letters: dlé. Private to "dédale": ae. Private to "défilé": fi.
"dédale" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV · "défilé" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "dédale" and "défilé" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "dédale" vs "défilé" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "dédale" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "défilé" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #262,171 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "dédale" and "défilé" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "décèle vs dédale". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #262,171 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.