Which to use
“défaite” and “dégaine” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,121
- “défaite” frequency rank
- #29,740
- “dégaine” frequency rank
- 31861
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | défaite | dégaine |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Déroute d’une armée ou de quelques troupes. | Tournure ; façon de se tenir ; allure. |
Where the eye mixes défaite and dégaine
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. défaite and dégaine follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVVCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses défaite with dégaine
A purely visual mix-up. défaite (\de.fɛt\) and dégaine (\de.ɡɛn\) 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 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 31861, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
défaite is recorded at frequency rank #2,121, classified as anoun, pronounced \de.fɛt\. dégaine is at rank #29,740, tagged as anoun, pronounced \de.ɡɛn\.
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 31861, this pair ranks #301,085 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of défaite vs dégaine
Shared letters: adeié. Private to "défaite": ft. Private to "dégaine": gn.
"défaite" · 7 letters · shape CVCVVCV · "dégaine" · 7 letters · shape CVCVVCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "défaite" and "dégaine" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "défaite" vs "dégaine" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "défaite" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "dégaine" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #301,085 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "défaite" and "dégaine" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "dégaine vs draine". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #301,085 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.