Which to use
“défait” is an adjective and “délai” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #11,757
- “défait” frequency rank
- #2,711
- “délai” frequency rank
- 14468
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | défait | délai |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Qui est dénoué, déconstruit, mis dans un état inconvenable, désordonné. | Temps accordé pour faire une chose, ou à l’expiration duquel on sera tenu de faire une certaine chose. |
Where the eye mixes défait and délai
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. défait runs 6 letters (CVCVVC) against délai's 5 (CVCVV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses défait with délai
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: défait is \de.fɛ\ while délai is \de.lɛ\. 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 (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14468, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
défait is recorded at frequency rank #11,757, classified as anadj, pronounced \de.fɛ\. délai is at rank #2,711, tagged as anoun, pronounced \de.lɛ\.
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 14468, this pair ranks #396,507 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of défait vs délai
Shared letters: adié. Private to "défait": ft. Private to "délai": l.
"défait" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC · "délai" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "défait" and "délai" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "défait" or "délai"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "défait" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "délai" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #396,507 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "défait" and "délai" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "défait vs detail". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #396,507 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.