Which to use
“défaire” and “déplaire” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #10,691
- “défaire” frequency rank
- #21,299
- “déplaire” frequency rank
- 31990
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | défaire | déplaire |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Modifier l’état d’une chose de manière qu’elle ne soit plus ce qu’elle était. | Être désagréable, en parlant des personnes. |
Where the eye mixes défaire and déplaire
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. défaire runs 7 letters (CVCVVCV) against déplaire's 8 (CVCCVVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between défaire and déplaire
A purely visual mix-up. défaire (\de.fɛʁ\) and déplaire (\de.plɛʁ\) 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 31990, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
défaire is recorded at frequency rank #10,691, classified as averb, pronounced \de.fɛʁ\. déplaire is at rank #21,299, tagged as averb, pronounced \de.plɛʁ\.
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 31990, this pair ranks #300,276 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of défaire vs déplaire
Shared letters: adeiré. Private to "défaire": f. Private to "déplaire": lp.
"défaire" · 7 letters · shape CVCVVCV · "déplaire" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVVCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "défaire" and "déplaire" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "défaire" or "déplaire"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "défaire" and "déplaire" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "défaire" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "déplaire" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #300,276 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "défaire" and "déplaire" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "declare vs déplaire". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #300,276 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.