déférévsdigèreWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“déféré” and “digère” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#37,775
“déféré” frequency rank
#34,059
“digère” frequency rank
71834
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature déféré digère
Definition Participe passé masculin singulier de déférer. Première personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de digérer.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set déféré and digère apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
déféré
6 ch
digère

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. déféré (\de.fe.ʁe\) and digère (\di.ʒɛʁ\) 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 4 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 71834, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

déféré is recorded at frequency rank #37,775, classified as averb, pronounced \de.fe.ʁe\. digère is at rank #34,059, tagged as averb, pronounced \di.ʒɛʁ\.

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 71834, this pair ranks #46,116 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of déféré vs digère

Shared letters: dr. Private to "déféré": . Private to "digère": egiè.

"déféré" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV  ·  "digère" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV

Frequency comparison

déféré#37,775
digère#34,059

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "déféré" and "digère" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\de.fe.ʁe\ versus \di.ʒɛʁ\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "déféré" or "digère"?
"digère" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #34,059 in our French list, against #37,775 for "déféré". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering déféré vs digère

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “déféré” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list