Which to use
“défauts” and “départs” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #5,124
- “défauts” frequency rank
- #9,158
- “départs” frequency rank
- 14282
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | défauts | départs |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de défaut. | Pluriel de départ. |
Where the eye mixes défauts and départs
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. défauts (CVCVVCC) and départs (CVCVCCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses défauts with départs
A purely visual mix-up. défauts (\de.fo\) and départs (\de.paʁ\) 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 14282, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
défauts is recorded at frequency rank #5,124, classified as anoun, pronounced \de.fo\. départs is at rank #9,158, tagged as anoun, pronounced \de.paʁ\.
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 14282, this pair ranks #397,367 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of défauts vs départs
Shared letters: adsté. Private to "défauts": fu. Private to "départs": pr.
"défauts" · 7 letters · shape CVCVVCC · "départs" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "défauts" and "départs" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "défauts" vs "départs" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "défauts" and "départs" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "défauts" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "départs" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #397,367 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "défauts" and "départs" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "départir vs départs". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #397,367 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.