Which to use
“déduire” and “détruire” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #11,391
- “déduire” frequency rank
- #2,774
- “détruire” frequency rank
- 14165
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | déduire | détruire |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Soustraire d’une somme à payer telle ou telle fraction qui n’est pas à verser. | Démolir, ruiner, en parlant d'un édifice, d'une construction. |
Where the eye mixes déduire and détruire
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. déduire runs 7 letters (CVCVVCV) against détruire's 8 (CVCCVVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between déduire and détruire
A purely visual mix-up. déduire (\de.dɥiʁ\) and détruire (\de.tʁɥiʁ\) 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 14165, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
déduire is recorded at frequency rank #11,391, classified as averb, pronounced \de.dɥiʁ\. détruire is at rank #2,774, tagged as averb, pronounced \de.tʁɥiʁ\.
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 14165, this pair ranks #397,891 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of déduire vs détruire
Shared letters: deirué. Private to "déduire": -. Private to "détruire": t.
"déduire" · 7 letters · shape CVCVVCV · "détruire" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVVCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "déduire" for "détruire" ever safe?
Which is more common, "déduire" or "détruire"?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "déduire" and "détruire" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "déduire" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "détruire" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #397,891 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "déduire" and "détruire" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "déduire vs déduite". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #397,891 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.