Which to use
“défauts” and “devants” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #5,124
- “défauts” frequency rank
- #23,169
- “devants” frequency rank
- 28293
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | défauts | devants |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de défaut. | Pluriel de devant. |
Where the eye mixes défauts and devants
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between défauts and devants
A purely visual mix-up. défauts (\de.fo\) and devants (\də.vɑ̃\) 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 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 28293, 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\. devants is at rank #23,169, tagged as anoun, pronounced \də.vɑ̃\.
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 28293, this pair ranks #323,729 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of défauts vs devants
Shared letters: adst. Private to "défauts": fué. Private to "devants": env.
"défauts" · 7 letters · shape CVCVVCC · "devants" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- devants ← ddevants · deavnts · devannts · devanst · devantss · devantts · devatns · devnats
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "défauts" and "devants" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "défauts" vs "devants" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "défauts" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "devants" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #323,729 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "défauts" and "devants" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "devants vs déviants". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #323,729 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.