déesses vs dépasses, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“déesses” is a noun and “dépasses” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#30,991
“déesses” frequency rank: #46,131
“dépasses” frequency rank: 77122
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	déesses	dépasses
Definition	Pluriel de déesse.	Deuxième personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de dépasser.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set déesses and dépasses apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch

déesses

8 ch

dépasses

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: déesses is \de.ɛs\ while dépasses is \de.pas\. 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 (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 77122, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

déesses is recorded at frequency rank #30,991, classified as anoun, pronounced \de.ɛs\. dépasses is at rank #46,131, tagged as averb, pronounced \de.pas\.

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 77122, this pair ranks #29,250 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of déesses vs dépasses

Shared letters: desé. Private to "déesses": -. Private to "dépasses": ap.

"déesses" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCVC · "dépasses" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC

Frequency comparison

déesses#30,991

dépasses#46,131

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "déesses" and "dépasses" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "déesses" is a noun and "dépasses" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "déesses" or "dépasses"?

"déesses" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #30,991 in our French list, against #46,131 for "dépasses". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering déesses vs dépasses

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “déesses”; for a verb, it's “dépasses”.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “déesses” entry
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